Equal (TV series)
Equal is an American docuseries produced by Scout Productions, Berlanti Productions, Raintree Ventures, That's Wonderful Productions, and Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. The four-part series chronicles landmark events and leaders in LGBTQ history, and consists of a mixture of archival footage and scripted reenactments. "Equal" stars several actors including Samira Wiley, Jamie Clayton, and Anthony Rapp. The series premiered on HBO Max on October 22, 2020. Plot. Episode 1. This episode explores the rise of the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis. Dale Jennings and Harry Hay were both married to women before they founded  the Mattachine Society. Dale has twice married women. Kinsey Reports on male sex is first published in 1948. Del Martin was married and divorced from a man. In the 1950s, gay people were prohibited from working for the US government because of Executive Order 10450; this loss of employment became known as the Lavender scare. ONE magazine was first published in 1953. Mattachine Society members sought to outlaw entrapment. The Ladder (magazine) was first published in 1956. In the 1950s, Ernestine Eckstein says, "The negro cause is widely accepted. The homosexual cause is not yet accepted." Gays and lesbians were  seen as "immoral" and "sick." The Council on Religion and the Homosexual was set up in the 1960s to win religious support for the civil rights of gay people; Evander Smith and Herb Donaldson (lawyer) were its leaders. Episode 2. This episode focuses on the 20th-century transgender movement, including the 1966 Compton Cafeteria riots in Tenderloin, San Francisco. Even earlier, masquerade laws were used to arrest trans men and women. The FBI goes after Lucy Hicks Anderson because she was receiving the extra pay allotment as the married wife of her husband Reuben Anderson. She faced a "federal fraud  case" since the authorities didn't accept her female gender. Episode 3. This episode highlights contributions from the Black community to the growing LGBTQ civil rights movement. David Susskind praises Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" on his television show. Hansberry and her husband become active in Greenwich Village. José Sarria performed at the Black Cat Bar in San Francisco, California. In 1961, Sarria becomes the first gay person to run for public office. In Los Angeles, police arrest hundreds of gay people at the Black Cat Tavern in 1967. Episode 4. This episode tackles the Stonewall Riots  and the beginning of the Pride movement." Craig Rodwell does janitorial work on Fire Island. Later, he opens up a book shop on Mercer Street (Manhattan). Marsha P. Johnson became known as "the mayor of Christopher Street" in the 1960s. Billy Porter says that the Genovese crime family opened up the Stonewall Inn; in the 1960s, it was illegal to serve liquor to gay and trans people in public bars in New York City. The Gay Liberation Front (GLF) is founded in June 1969 after the Stonewall Riots. While the Gay Liberation Front sought to form coalition with racial and  feminist groups, the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) focused more on gay rights. Gay activists in 1969 sought end of police arrests for same-sex public displays of affection (PDA). They also clamored for end to firings and employment reprisals for being gay. In 1973, Sylvia Rivera gives a speech saying, "I have been thrown in jail. I have lost my job. I have lost my apartment for gay liberation." Cast and characters. Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Production. Development. On October 16, 2019 it was announced that HBO Max had commissioned an LGBTQ+ historical docuseries consisting of  four hour-long episodes from Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. It is the first production from the company's documentary series unit. The show's executive producers are David Collins, Michael Williams, Rob Eric, and Joel Chiodi (Scout Productions); Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter (Berlanti Productions); Jim Parsons and Todd Spiewak (That's Wonderful Productions); Jon Jashni (Raintree Ventures); and Mike Darnell and Brooke Karzen (Warner Horizon Unscripted Television). Diane Becker and Melanie Miller are also producers. The series premiered on October 22, 2020, in observance of LGBT History Month. Crew. "Equal"'s showrunner is Stephen Kijak, who also directs episodes  one, three and four. Kimberly Reed directs episode two. Casting. On August 25, 2020 the casting of Samira Wiley, Cheyenne Jackson, Anthony Rapp, Sara Gilbert, Alexandra Grey, Shannon Purser, Heather Matarazzo, Jamie Clayton, Isis King, and Gale Harold was announced. Reception. The show received positive critical reception. It holds a 83% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Inkoo Kang wrote for "The Hollywood Reporter", "In celebrating a movement whose foremothers and forefathers’ names have yet to enter the common lexicon, Equal is a valuable if glossy resource."