Plot Synopsis

Based on the Tony Award-winning play by Robert Schenkkan. In 1963 Lyndon B. Johnson's begins his first year in office after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Staking his presidency on what would be an historic unprecedented Civil Rights Act, Johnson finds himself caught between the moral imperative of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the expectations of the southern Democratic Party leaders who brought him to power. Along with King are large cast of players that help set the stage for this social shift, including Bob Moses, Stokely Carmichael, Sen. Hubert Humphrey, Gov. George Wallace, Sen. Richard Russell, J. Edgar Hoover, Sen. Everett Dirksen and Ralph Abernathy. Strong women such as Lady Bird Johnson and Fannie Lou Hamer make their voices heard and help to change the course of events. As King battles to press Johnson while controlling more radical elements of the Civil Rights Movement, Johnson navigates the bill through Congress, winning a landslide victory against Barry Goldwater, but causing the South to defect from the Democratic Party. A revealing portrait of LBJ, showing the dichotomy of a man many consider to be one of the great leaders of all time. Yet on a personal level, Johnson was plagued by low self-esteem and haunted by fears of humiliation and loneliness. Bryan Cranston's brilliant portrayal of LBJ earned him a Tony Award in 2014.