

2003·Drama·6 episodes
8.4
★







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.
Created by Tony Kushner
new york city
angel
aids
drag queen
drug addiction
heaven
terminal illness
ronald reagan
hiv
based on play or musical
miniseries
social commentary
cross dressing
sexual repression
mormon
lgbt
1980s
closeted homosexual
gay theme
political drama
republican
mother-in-law daughter-in-law relationship
central park
Rank
#1 in 2003·#118 overall

Trailer
Where to Watch



Seasons

Limited Series
6 episodes · 2003
Cast

Al Pacino
Roy Cohn

Justin Kirk
Prior Walter / Leatherman in the Park

Ben Shenkman
Louis Ironson / The Angel Oceania

Mary-Louise Parker
Harper Pitt

Meryl Streep
Hannah Pitt / Ethel Rosenberg / The Rabbi / The Angel Australia

Jeffrey Wright
Norman 'Belize' Ariaga / Mr. Lies / Homeless man / The Angel Europa

Patrick Wilson
Joe Pitt

Emma Thompson
Nurse Emily / Homeless Woman / The Angel

Brian Markinson
Martin Heller

James Cromwell
Roy's Doctor

Florence Kastriner
Mrs. Ironson

Howard Pinhasik
Mr. Ironson
Crew

Mike Nichols
Director

Tony Kushner
Writer

Thomas Newman
Original Music Composer

Stephen Goldblatt
Director of Photography

Cary Brokaw
Executive Producer

Mike Nichols
Executive Producer

Celia D. Costas
Producer

Tony Kushner
Teleplay

Tony Kushner
Theatre Play

Ann Roth
Costume Design

Danny Aiello III
Stunt Coordinator

Ellen Lewis
Casting
Popular Reviews
166 reviews
Megan
10.0★ · 10/22/25

Fabulous 1000/1000
(Patrick Wilson in this is so 🥰🤭 )
(Patrick Wilson in this is so 🥰🤭 )
Fabulous 1000/1000
(Patrick Wilson in this is so 🥰🤭 )
(Patrick Wilson in this is so 🥰🤭 )
1
Oliver
10.0★ · 06/02/26



When your circle small but all yall gay and sad!!!!
When your circle small but all yall gay and sad!!!!
e blackmon
10.0★ · 05/12/26

okay gang strap in, i have a lot to say about this one:
probably the only 6 hour long movie i would ever even consider giving five stars, and even then i went in ready to be pretty annoyed about it. its dense, narratively complex, and has such deep characterization that it calls for every single moment of its runtime.
one of the very first examples of true prestige television and probably my favorite i’ve ever seen.
tony kushner is one of the best to ever do it and the whole cast is in tip top shape. the double and triple casting is unbelievable. meryl streep transforms into completely different people, al pacino gives what’s probably close to a career best, patrick wilson is a surprise standout and jeffrey wright is basically perfect. it’s a lineup of heavy hitters all working at like full capacity on my favorite script ever.
even beyond the writing and performances, this thing is a masterclass. i think oftentimes cinematography in play adaptations can be lacking because its adapting a staged narrative, but here it’s so fluid and surreal and blends so seamlessly that it feels like this was always meant for the screen.
unbelievably real and strikingly beautiful. deeply funny and utterly devastating. i can’t even begin to explain everything that works here. this thing addresses so many themes so well. kushner tackles queerness, AIDS, Reaganism, religion, politics, modern relationships, independence, identity, sex, addiction, death, and life. many, many strands woven together expertly, and somehow it never feels convoluted or bogged down. it’s just real.
oh and fuck roy cohn. like fr deeply and historically. fuck roy cohn forever.
probably the only 6 hour long movie i would ever even consider giving five stars, and even then i went in ready to be pretty annoyed about it. its dense, narratively complex, and has such deep characterization that it calls for every single moment of its runtime.
one of the very first examples of true prestige television and probably my favorite i’ve ever seen.
tony kushner is one of the best to ever do it and the whole cast is in tip top shape. the double and triple casting is unbelievable. meryl streep transforms into completely different people, al pacino gives what’s probably close to a career best, patrick wilson is a surprise standout and jeffrey wright is basically perfect. it’s a lineup of heavy hitters all working at like full capacity on my favorite script ever.
even beyond the writing and performances, this thing is a masterclass. i think oftentimes cinematography in play adaptations can be lacking because its adapting a staged narrative, but here it’s so fluid and surreal and blends so seamlessly that it feels like this was always meant for the screen.
unbelievably real and strikingly beautiful. deeply funny and utterly devastating. i can’t even begin to explain everything that works here. this thing addresses so many themes so well. kushner tackles queerness, AIDS, Reaganism, religion, politics, modern relationships, independence, identity, sex, addiction, death, and life. many, many strands woven together expertly, and somehow it never feels convoluted or bogged down. it’s just real.
oh and fuck roy cohn. like fr deeply and historically. fuck roy cohn forever.
okay gang strap in, i have a lot to say about this one:
probably the only 6 hour long movie i would ever even consider giving five stars, and even then i went in ready to be pretty annoyed about it. its dense, narratively complex, and has such deep characterization that it calls for every single moment of its runtime.
one of the very first examples of true prestige television and probably my favorite i’ve ever seen.
tony kushner is one of the best to ever do it and the whole cast is in tip top shape. the double and triple casting is unbelievable. meryl streep transforms into completely different people, al pacino gives what’s probably close to a career best, patrick wilson is a surprise standout and jeffrey wright is basically perfect. it’s a lineup of heavy hitters all working at like full capacity on my favorite script ever.
even beyond the writing and performances, this thing is a masterclass. i think oftentimes cinematography in play adaptations can be lacking because its adapting a staged narrative, but here it’s so fluid and surreal and blends so seamlessly that it feels like this was always meant for the screen.
unbelievably real and strikingly beautiful. deeply funny and utterly devastating. i can’t even begin to explain everything that works here. this thing addresses so many themes so well. kushner tackles queerness, AIDS, Reaganism, religion, politics, modern relationships, independence, identity, sex, addiction, death, and life. many, many strands woven together expertly, and somehow it never feels convoluted or bogged down. it’s just real.
oh and fuck roy cohn. like fr deeply and historically. fuck roy cohn forever.
probably the only 6 hour long movie i would ever even consider giving five stars, and even then i went in ready to be pretty annoyed about it. its dense, narratively complex, and has such deep characterization that it calls for every single moment of its runtime.
one of the very first examples of true prestige television and probably my favorite i’ve ever seen.
tony kushner is one of the best to ever do it and the whole cast is in tip top shape. the double and triple casting is unbelievable. meryl streep transforms into completely different people, al pacino gives what’s probably close to a career best, patrick wilson is a surprise standout and jeffrey wright is basically perfect. it’s a lineup of heavy hitters all working at like full capacity on my favorite script ever.
even beyond the writing and performances, this thing is a masterclass. i think oftentimes cinematography in play adaptations can be lacking because its adapting a staged narrative, but here it’s so fluid and surreal and blends so seamlessly that it feels like this was always meant for the screen.
unbelievably real and strikingly beautiful. deeply funny and utterly devastating. i can’t even begin to explain everything that works here. this thing addresses so many themes so well. kushner tackles queerness, AIDS, Reaganism, religion, politics, modern relationships, independence, identity, sex, addiction, death, and life. many, many strands woven together expertly, and somehow it never feels convoluted or bogged down. it’s just real.
oh and fuck roy cohn. like fr deeply and historically. fuck roy cohn forever.
Diego MillerPRO
9.0★ · 04/13/26

Around the halfway point this starts to feel so much bigger, we start with a story about a few people and move into watching the entire world cracked open. Illness as a brutal test of connection. People will either rise to it or completely fold and the show doesn’t soften that. Prior is carrying something ancient, not just his own pain but everyone’s refusal to face theirs. That tension between staying present and running away, sits under everything and gives even the smallest scenes a kind of weight that doesn’t let up. The way it shifts from reality to whatever the fuck you want to call everything else is unreal. One second you’re in a hospital room and the next Emma Thompson is an angel crashing through the ceiling, never does that feel like a gimmick. It all exists on the same emotional plane, the hallucinations are just another way of telling the truth. The staging leans right into that, nothing hidden, nothing polished and it makes it all the more honest. It’s confrontational in how honest it is, it wants you to sit with the mechanics while still getting fully swept up in it. And then it leans into the bigger ideas, god leaving, the fear of progress, the idea that moving forward might destroy it all, it never feels like waffle. It’s urgent, it’s asking questions it genuinely doesn’t have answers for. The whole thing is heavily anchored by the performances, all of which are doing an insane amount of work to hold something this chaotic together. Characters needing to shift between grounded and ridiculously heightened without warning and not one of them loses themselves in it. I could go on and on singling them all out, but that would almost feel like a disservice to Justin Kirk, who carries prior like a man being hollowed out in real time, every line trembling with fear, humour and something prophetic and never losing the fragile human underneath it. One of the most nuanced and emotionally precise performances you’ll ever see. The writing gives them all so much to chew on, long stretches of dialogue that could so easily collapse under their own weight, but when it clicks it’s fucking electric, and it almost always clicks. Hillarious in places you don’t expect, devastating when you think you have got a handle on it and constantly pushing forward even when it feels like everything is falling apart. What a fucking ending man. I’m left sitting here with this strange mix of exhaustion and clarity.
The messenger has arrived.
The messenger has arrived.
Around the halfway point this starts to feel so much bigger, we start with a story about a few people and move into watching the entire world cracked open. Illness as a brutal test of connection. People will either rise to it or completely fold and the show doesn’t soften that. Prior is carrying something ancient, not just his own pain but everyone’s refusal to face theirs. That tension between staying present and running away, sits under everything and gives even the smallest scenes a kind of weight that doesn’t let up. The way it shifts from reality to whatever the fuck you want to call everything else is unreal. One second you’re in a hospital room and the next Emma Thompson is an angel crashing through the ceiling, never does that feel like a gimmick. It all exists on the same emotional plane, the hallucinations are just another way of telling the truth. The staging leans right into that, nothing hidden, nothing polished and it makes it all the more honest. It’s confrontational in how honest it is, it wants you to sit with the mechanics while still getting fully swept up in it. And then it leans into the bigger ideas, god leaving, the fear of progress, the idea that moving forward might destroy it all, it never feels like waffle. It’s urgent, it’s asking questions it genuinely doesn’t have answers for. The whole thing is heavily anchored by the performances, all of which are doing an insane amount of work to hold something this chaotic together. Characters needing to shift between grounded and ridiculously heightened without warning and not one of them loses themselves in it. I could go on and on singling them all out, but that would almost feel like a disservice to Justin Kirk, who carries prior like a man being hollowed out in real time, every line trembling with fear, humour and something prophetic and never losing the fragile human underneath it. One of the most nuanced and emotionally precise performances you’ll ever see. The writing gives them all so much to chew on, long stretches of dialogue that could so easily collapse under their own weight, but when it clicks it’s fucking electric, and it almost always clicks. Hillarious in places you don’t expect, devastating when you think you have got a handle on it and constantly pushing forward even when it feels like everything is falling apart. What a fucking ending man. I’m left sitting here with this strange mix of exhaustion and clarity.
The messenger has arrived.
The messenger has arrived.
Amy
8.0★ · 03/19/26

Everyone In their life should watch this at least once
Everyone In their life should watch this at least once