Mena Suvari Portrays Modern 'American Woman' in Throwback Series
*By Alyssa Caverley*
The producers of "American Woman" set out to create a period drama about three women confronting sexism, changing gender roles, and female empowerment. Though it is set during the second-wave feminist movement of the 1970s, the series, starring Men Suvari, could just as well be about the #MeToo movement in the era of Time's Up.
"This show has actually been in development for about five years now, so obviously it's an amazing day and age that we are living in because of these conversations, but it was sort of happenstance for us and I think it's really wonderful," Suvari said in an interview with Cheddar. "It has the potential to create and furthermore of these conversations about where we were at."
Suvari plays a wealthy, single Beverly Hills socialite looking for love from all the wrong men. She's best friend to the show's main character, Bonnie, played by Alicia Silverstone.
"It's 1975 and this is right around the time of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) trying to pass and there's this huge wave of feminism that's sweeping through the country and it's woven throughout the entire series," Suvari said. "You really see each of these women coming up against all sorts of life challenges."
The character of Bonnie was inspired by "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Kyle Richards's mother, and Richards is a co-executive producer of the series on Paramount Network. Bonnie is trying to raise her two children on her own after her marriage fell apart.
The show also stars Jennifer Bartel as Diana, who is trying to climb the corporate ladder in the male-dominated finance industry.
"It's such a wild ride with all of these women," Suvari said, adding she hopes modern women will see something relatable in the portrayals of the 70s versions of themselves.
"I think it's highly relatable and what I love about it and hope for, is that it creates more conversation about where we were and where we need to be and where we want to go as women," she said.
The show had its debut on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/mena-suvari-talks-feminist-themes-in-american-woman).
Low-code app development platform Crowdbotics raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by Jackson Square Ventures. Crowdbotics has helped more than 14,000 customers launch apps without having to learn how to code. The company can offer a team of expert developers to help companies launch custom apps, or provide the means for companies to develop apps themselves. Crowdbotics CEO Anand Kulkarni joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Dr. Celeste González de Bustamante, professor and director of the Center for Border and Global Journalism at the Univerity of Arizona, and Dr. Jeannine E. Relly, professor and director of Global Initiatives at the Center for Border and Global Journalism at the University of Arizona, join Cheddar News to discuss the recent journalist killings in Mexico.
Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand Skims has doubled its valuation to $3.2 billion. Investors have taken a bet on the success of this brand in the form of fresh funds for the two-year-old company.
Nathan Harding, CEO of Luum, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss the process of having a robot put on eyelash extensions, and how automation is making its way into the beauty industry
Kevin Yu, Founder and CEO of Sidechef, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how it's building a platform to make recipe shopping easy, and how its features help you discover new recipes with the same ingredients to fight the massive problem of food waste.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Sidechef CEO breaks down how it's building a platform to make recipe shopping easy; Luum CEO explains the process of having a robot put on eyelash extensions; A look at Curiosity Stream's new original series, 'Evolve.'
Wednesday marked two years since the basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others died in a tragic helicopter crash. In remembrance, a bronze statue has been temporarily placed at the site with all of the passenger's names included on the memorial.
McDonald's missed on both the top and bottom lines in its Q4 earnings, marking the fourth loss for the fast-food giant in the past eight quarters. It comes as higher costs from food to wages ate into the blue-chip company's profits. George Seay, CEO of investment advisor Annandale Capital, joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss the recent numbers and the better-than-expected success of the McPlant burger made with plant-based Beyond Meat. "They're changing with the times, and they have to," Seay noted. "You can just sell a Big Mac to everybody. There's a lot of people who don't want to eat a Big Mac anymore."
