# The Plot Against America (2020)

> A working-class Jewish family in 1940s New Jersey watches an isolationist aviator-hero rise to the presidency and steer America toward fascism.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/71502

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 61 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: science fiction, drama, history
- Created by: Ed Burns, David Simon
- Network: HBO
- Cast: Winona Ryder, John Turturro, Zoe Kazan, Morgan Spector, Anthony Boyle, Azhy Robertson, Caleb Malis, Jacob Laval
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9308346/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: dread-filled, measured, intimate, tense

## What critics say

Critics broadly praise the miniseries for its sober, historically grounded reimagining of rising American fascism seen through one Jewish family's eyes.

## Synopsis

The Plot Against America (2020) is an American alternate history miniseries created by Ed Burns and David Simon for HBO. Across six episodes, it follows a working-class Jewish family in New Jersey as they watch aviator-hero Charles Lindbergh rise through populist politics to the presidency. Winona Ryder plays Evelyn Finkel, a mother whose unease sharpens as the country shifts, while John Turturro plays Rabbi Lionel Bengelsdorf, a respected community figure who begins to accommodate the new regime. Zoe Kazan, Morgan Spector and Anthony Boyle round out the household, and Azhy Robertson plays the young Philip Levin, whose view of events gives the story its childlike clarity. The engine of the series is the slow erosion of ordinary life: neighbors turn wary, schoolyards grow hostile, and families weigh whether to speak out or keep quiet. Rather than spectacle, each episode is built from small domestic scenes and public moments that carry mounting threat. The result is a limited series with a measured, dread-filled tone, grounded in period detail and sharp about how prejudice wears a respectable face. Viewers drawn to The Man in the High Castle and Boardwalk Empire will find the same blend of historical texture and political unease.

## Shows like The Plot Against America

- [SS-GB (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/59731)
- [11.22.63 (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/57038)
- [Hunters (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/68471)
- [Lady in the Lake (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/100150)
- [For All Mankind (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/74647)
- [The Crossing (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/62337)
- [Station Eleven (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/77092)
- [World on Fire (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/70853)
- [Transatlantic (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/121617)
- [Manhattan (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/54507)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt