Boardwalk Empire

Prohibition-era Atlantic City becomes a battleground for politicians, bootleggers and families seeking security through unstable alliances. Angela Darmody wants an artistic life and an intimacy less constrained by the expectations surrounding her. Her relationships with women create possibilities that sit uneasily alongside the domestic role other people assume she will accept. Within the early seasons’ wider crime story, her desires have practical consequences for the future she tries to imagine. The series places that personal struggle in a violent world where private freedom is repeatedly threatened by the people competing for public power. Sapphic storyline seasons: S1–2 for Angela’s substantial queer story: Mary in S1 and Louise in S2. Do not imply ongoing representation through S3–5.