HBO Brings us the Johnson Years

Tonight on HBO you get a glimpse into the administration of President Johnson, with the lead role played by Bryan Cranston who you may remember from Breaking Bad.  The program, All The Way, bring Cranston's Broadway act to television.

Here is a quick summary (and trailer) from HBO:

All The Way offers a riveting behind-the scenes look at President Lyndon B. Johnson’s tumultuous 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 Johnson to power.  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.

You can learn more about the series in this HBO clip where Bryan Cranston and others talk about their characters and the period being portrayed. 

It is about time we get a profile of a great man rather than being forced to relive the O.J. Simpson trial and other "docu-dramas" on television these days.  And maybe Americans will learn more about what it takes to be president in a season where reality TV seems to be more important than the everyday realities of a dangerous world.  Character matters in difficult times.