Rachel Griffiths, Mary-Louise Parker to Star in ‘When We Rise’

Rachel Griffiths
Rachel Griffiths attends the 5th AACTA International Awards in Los Angeles. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for AACTA)

Weeds‘ Mary-Louise Parker, Brothers and SistersRachel Griffiths, and Guy Pearce have been cast in ABC’s limited event series, When We Rise. The seven episode dramatic series comes from Oscar winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk) who’s writing and executive producing the series. Laurence Mark (Julie & Julia), Bruce Cohen (American Beauty), and Milk‘s director Gus Van Sant are also involved as executive producers. In addition, Van Sant will be directing the show’s two-hour premiere.

The cast also includes Austin McKenzie, Emily Skeggs, Jonathan Majors, and Fiona Dourif.

“It’s been the honor of my life to research and craft these stories of family, diversity and equality over the past three years,” stated executive producer Dustin Lance Black. “To have collaborators of this caliber sign on to help bring these stories to life is a tremendous vote of confidence, and I hope a testament to the relevancy and necessity of our continued march toward justice for all.”


The Plot: When We Rise chronicles the real-life personal and political struggles, set-backs and triumphs of a diverse family of LGBT men and women who helped pioneer one of the last legs of the U.S. Civil Rights movement from its turbulent infancy in the 20th century to the once unfathomable successes of today.

Cleve Jones (Guy Pearce) is a young Quaker from Arizona who joined the gay liberation movement in 1972, was befriended by pioneer gay rights leader Harvey Milk, founded the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, and led the National March for Equality in 2009.

From rural Maine, Roma Guy (Mary-Louise Parker) is a lesbian and a long time social justice leader who co-founded the San Francisco Women’s Building. Then, as a Public Health Commissioner, she worked with others to bring healthcare access to all San Franciscans. She is currently a criminal justice activist.

Diane (Rachel Griffiths) is a lesbian mother and grandmother of three who joined the Women’s Movement in the 1970s in San Francisco, co-founded the Women’s Building and has worked as an HIV/AIDS nurse and social justice activist at San Francisco General Hospital for 33 years.

Ken Jones, an African-American Vietnam veteran, joined the gay liberation movement in San Francisco only to discover and confront racism within the gay men’s community. For years, he organized services for homeless youth as he faced the devastation of the AIDS epidemic.