Season 1 – The Plot Against America

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2:01

2020

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

77 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

An alternate American history during World War II is told through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family in New Jersey as they endure the political rise of Charles Lindbergh, who captures the presidency and turns the nation toward fascism.

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Critics Consensus

A cautionary tale that hits close to home, The Plot Against America's handsomely realized revisionist history is disturbingly relevant, making it difficult, but essential viewing.

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Alastair McKay

London Evening Standard

It's a slow unwinding. As you'd expect from a David Simon drama, the characters are nuanced.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 21, 2020

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Scott Bryan

BBC.com

I loved its attention to detail, I love the richness of how it captures 1940s America, and how it shows extremist political opinions can have severe and terrifying consequences.

Jul 17, 2020

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Tom Ryan

The Age (Australia)

A powerful family portrait framed by the blaze that Lindbergh's election has set alight.

Jul 16, 2020

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Joonatan Itkonen

Toisto.net

You know we’re in the darkest timeline when shows about fascist-run alternate histories start to feel timely.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 5, 2024

Full Review

Olly Richards

NME (New Musical Express)

It's fiction, but all the worst bits have the jangling ring of truth.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 28, 2021

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David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

That an insidious version of initially smiling and "friendly" fascism, which wraps itself in homilies and "Americanism," can and will arise, given the right circumstances, is a truth, and a reality, that millions need to understand.

Feb 13, 2021

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Sal D

Compelling series based on the Roth novel. Performances, particularly Zoe Kazan, were the main driver of series - the script interpretation of the novel, however, lacks the edge. I could not put the Roth novel down - unfortunately, the series did not magnetize me in that way. Still better than average.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/08/25

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Greg K

Tremendously immersive story that asks "what if" with the right dosage of moral sermoning. Will leave you wondering, if what you see is just a copy of the present paste into the past.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/24

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S P

Amazing acting, great depths for all the characters that each have their reasons and hopes. Viewed from the eyes of ordinary people so we only catch snippets of the big events going on, but fantastic atmosphere. Stretches the baddies a bit but never goes too far as to make it a mockery of what it denounces.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/05/23

Full Review

John R

Interesting family drama, but I honestly could have done without the vast majority of those storylines in favor of an actual political treatment of what was going on. Catching the situation in snippets by radio or yelling was kind of annoying. Great performances, but I just never really found myself being anything I could call 'interested'.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/24/22

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susan s

For those who can't hate America enough, here's more fiction.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

No comparison to the excellent book! They eliminated the boy's point of view and ruined it.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/09/23

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Zoe Kazan

Elizabeth "Bess" Levin

Morgan Spector

Herman Levin

Winona Ryder

Evelyn Finkel

John Turturro

Rabbi Lionel Bengelsdorf

Anthony Boyle

Alvin Levin

Azhy Robertson

Philip Levin

Episode 1

Aired Mar 16, 2020

Part 1

Herman takes his family to look at a house in an upwardly mobile neighborhood, though Bess is wary of leaving the safety of their tight-knit Jewish community; Evelyn becomes charmed by a distinguished local clergyman.

Details

Episode 2

Aired Mar 23, 2020

Part 2

Lindbergh's increasingly popular campaign captures some in the Levin family, as well as Bengelsdorf; Alvin must decide between serving a local real estate magnate or risking an open fight with the fascist forces he sees spreading across the world.

Details

Episode 3

Aired Mar 30, 2020

Part 3

Charles Lindbergh puts Bengelsdorf in charge of a program called Just Folks; Bess places her family on a waiting list to emigrate to Canada; the Levins take a trip to Washington, D.C., where they experience anti-Semitism among citizens and police.

Details

Episode 4

Aired Apr 6, 2020

Part 4

Evelyn and Bengelsdorf receive an invitation from Mrs. Lindbergh to a state dinner for Nazi Germany's foreign minister; back from war, Alvin takes a job at his uncle's warehouse; Philip is traumatized by a death in the neighborhood.

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Episode 5

Aired Apr 13, 2020

Part 5

After learning the family has been selected for a forced relocation, Herman looks to make a challenge in court; Bess gives Herman an ultimatum when violence breaks out at a rally for Lindbergh's most public liberal challenger.

Details

Episode 6

Aired Apr 20, 2020

Part 6

As riots and conspiracies spread across the country in the lead up to election day, Herman takes measures to keep his family safe; Bess does all she can at a great distance to help a small child caught in a maelstrom of anti-Semitism in Kentucky.

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