Angels in America

Synopsis

God has abandoned Heaven. It's 1985: the Reagans are in the White House and Death swings the scythe of AIDS. In Manhattan, Prior Walter tells Louis, his lover of four years, he's ill; Louis leaves but as disease and loneliness ravage Prior, guilt invades Louis. Joe Pitt, a Mormon Republican attorney, is pushed by right-wing fixer Roy Cohn toward a job at the Justice Department. Pitt and Cohn are closeted: Pitt, out of shame and religious turmoil; Cohn, to preserve his power and access. Pitt's wife Harper is strung out on Valium, aching to escape a sexless marriage. An angel invites Prior to be a prophet in death.

First Air Date: 2003-12-07

Last Air Date: 2003-12-14

Number of Seasons: 1

Number of Episodes: 6

Created By: Tony Kushner

Networks: HBO

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Top Cast

Al Pacino as Roy Cohn
Justin Kirk as Prior Walter / Leatherman in the Park
Ben Shenkman as Louis Ironson / The Angel Oceania
Mary-Louise Parker as Harper Pitt
Meryl Streep as Hannah Pitt / Ethel Rosenberg / The Rabbi / The Angel Australia
Jeffrey Wright as Norman 'Belize' Ariaga / Mr. Lies / Homeless man / The Angel Europa
Patrick Wilson as Joe Pitt
Emma Thompson as Nurse Emily / Homeless Woman / The Angel
Brian Markinson as Martin Heller
James Cromwell as Roy's Doctor

Seasons

Limited Series (2003)

God has abandoned Heaven. It's 1985: the Reagans are in the White House and Death swings the scythe of AIDS. In Manhattan, Prior Walter tells Louis, his lover of four years, he's ill; Louis leaves but asvdisease and loneliness ravage Prior, guilt invades Louis. Joe Pitt, a Mormon Republican attorney, is pushed by right-wing fixer Roy Cohn toward a job at the Justice Department. Pitt and Cohn are closeted: Pitt, out of shame and religious turmoil; Cohn, to preserve his power and access. Pitt's wife Harper is strung out on Valium, aching to escape a sexless marriage. An angel invites Prior to be a prophet in death.

Episodes:

Ep. 1: Millennium Approaches: Bad News (2003-12-07)

Prior Walter is diagnosed with AIDS that changes his life and he must deal with such new obstacle. Moreover, his partner abandoned him. He has also increasing hallucinations and Mormon's mother comes to New York in order to save her son's marriage. Meanwhile, Roy Cohn checks into the hospital.
Ep. 2: Millennium Approaches: In Vitro (2003-12-07)

Louis abandons a hospitalized Prior; Joe and Roy confide in each other over drinks. Later, Prior hears voices from his hospital bed while Louis solicits sex from strangers, and Joe makes a drunken confession to his mother.
Ep. 3: Millennium Approaches: The Messenger (2003-12-07)

Prior returns home and is visited by a pair of spectral namesake ancestors who herald the arrival of the messenger; a tussle with Joe leaves Roy with the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg. Later, Joe and Louis hook up in Central Park while Prior meets the angelic messenger.
Ep. 4: Perestroika: Stop Moving! (2003-12-14)

The story continues with Prior finally confronting the visions, Cohn desperately trying to manipulate the system to his benefit - all the while haunted by one of his victims, and Harper attempting to regain control of her life.
Ep. 5: Perestroika: Beyond Nelly (2003-12-14)

Louis arranges a meeting with Prior; Joe visits Roy in the hospital and gets an unwelcome father's blessing; Prior drags Belize to the courthouse for a surprise meeting with the clerk and later strikes up a friendship with Hannah. High on morphine, Roy paints a different picture of heaven.
Ep. 6: Perestroika: Heaven, I'm in Heaven (2003-12-14)

A fight with Joe leaves Louis badly scarred; Roy plays a final practical joke on Ethel; Prior wrestles the Angel and then addresses a review board in Heaven; Harper heads out West; Prior, outliving his diagnosis, pays a visit to his favorite angel and vows to keep living--free of secrets.