Ladies and gentlemen, I have found your next period piece to obsess over. I know some of you, like me, are still grieving over the loss of gems like "Mad Men" and "Downton Abbey." It's hard, I know. But like a good book, the best way to move on is to start a new one.
And, in my extremely biased opinion, this is the best one yet.
Last week, Amazon launched the first season of its new show, "Good Girls Revolt." The plot centers around News of The Week, a fictionalized media empire during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and those who work there. Here, reporting is the name of the game, but not all of the players are allowed to compete. It's made evident within the first moments of episode one that the women in the office are researchers alone, never reporters. Their names will never appear on the byline, even if they're doing all the work. But for some of these whip-smart women, this isn't enough. What follows is an exceptionally well-done, 10 episode season which follows the girls of News of the Week through their journey of self discovery, empowerment, and finding their voice.
Now, if there was ever a show that had my name written all over it, it would be this one. Period piece, female empowerment, and investigative reporting? Count me in! But what really sold me was how unafraid the Amazon production team was to be raw and honest in their retelling of this story, which is loosely based on real events that followed a lawsuit at Newsweek.
The show aimed to tackle some of the most apparent forms of sexism and identity through not one, but an entire group of women, all with their own struggles, points of view and perspectives. Our three main girls, Patti, Jane and Cindy, all come from different view points and struggle with varying issues throughout the season. Patti, the resident free spirit, is determined right out of the gate to write and publish for herself. But her gung-ho nature can often get her in trouble as she tries to figure out how to accomplish her goals.
Cindy, after getting married, was given a year by her husband to work before settling down, getting pregnant and raising kids. But after a brief exposure to the growing world of women's groups and second-wave feminism, she finds how little knowledge she's been given about her sexuality and her marriage.
And finally Jane, who started out as my least favorite, but ended up being one of the greatest character arks I've seen in a while. Jane is a hard worker, who at the beginning seems content with her position at News of the Week. Her focus is to please her family and marry well. But over time, and with a few nudges, she realizes that she is much more than a housewife to be.
While some have noticed a few inaccuracies within the world of "Good Girls Revolt," I think the thing to take away from this new season is the perspective of women during this crucial time in America's history. The show is set smack dab in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement and The Vietnam War. It touches on issues of intersectionality, the acknowledgment of PTSD in veterans, public sentiment, and, of course, women's rights in the workplace. There are many issues to tackle, and hopefully much more to come of this show.
