Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Get Ready For A Very Jewish Philip Roth TV Show

Philip Roth will speak from the grave…in the form of a television mini-series about a rabbi, of course.

The late author’s 2004 novel “The Plot Against America” is being developed into a six-part miniseries from HBO, Deadline reported. Produced by frequent partners Ed Burns and David Simon, the work depicts an alternate version of American history (Charles Lindbergh becomes the President instead of FDR, transforming the country into a Fascist and anti-Semitic state) explored through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family residing in suburban New Jersey.

Actor John Turturro leads the cast as Conservative Rabbi Lionel Bengelsdorf, an important figure in the fictional administration. Other cast members include Jewish actress Winona Ryder (currently starring in the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things”) and Morgan Spector (fun fact: his grandma was an actress in the New York Yiddish theater scene) as Herman Levin.

The production is currently filming in New Jersey, with one stop being the Temple Beth-El synagogue in Jersey City. The location holds significance for the Jewish producer Simon, as this was the same place where his father had his bar mitzvah in 1933.

Simon also had gotten permission from Roth himself, saying that “the novel was in good hands” after visiting him shortly before his passing.

The television adaptation comes at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise in the United States. As some argue the story holds uncanny parallels to today’s administration, Roth responded in an email to the New Yorker at the start of the Trump presidency that although he never intended the book to be a warning against the rise of figures like Trump, the president is “ignorant of government, of history, of science, of philosophy, of art” and “incapable of expressing or recognizing subtlety or nuance, destitute of all decency.”

Roth, most famously known for works such as “Goodbye Columbus” and “American Pastoral,” along with his depictions of New Jersey suburban life, passed away in May of last year.

Adrianna Chaviva Freedman is the Social Media Intern for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @ac_freedman

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.