Hollywood: First look at Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix limited series set in 1940s LA

Be prepared for some serious old-school glamour in the new Netflix series, Hollywood.

Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan exclusively for Netflix, the seven-part series follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Los Angeles.

It’s described as “a love letter to the Golden Age of Tinseltown... where dreamers dwell, stars are born, and magic transcends reality”.

Starring actors including Darren Criss and Jim Parsons, the period drama is based on some real historical events from the 1940s film industry.

Here's everything we know about Hollywood on Netflix so far.

When is Hollywood on Netflix?

All seven episodes of Hollywood are streaming on Netflix from Friday, May 1, 2020.

What is Hollywood about?

Hollywood follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Los Angeles as they try to make it in Tinseltown - no matter the cost. 

Each character offers a unique glimpse behind the gilded curtain of Hollywood's Golden Age, spotlighting the unfair systems and bias against race, gender and sexuality that continue to this day. 

Provocative and incisive, Hollywood exposes and examines decades-old power dynamics and explores what the entertainment landscape might look like if they had been dismantled. 

Who’s in the cast of Hollywood?

Hollywood stars David Corenswet as Jack Castello, Darren Criss as Raymond Ansley, Jeremy Pope as Archie Coleman, Laura Harrier as Camille Washington, Samara Weaving as Claire Wood, Dylan McDermott as Ernie, Holland Taylor as Ellen Kincaid, Patti LuPone as Avis Amberg, Jim Parsons as Henry Willson, Joe Mantello as Dick Samuels, and Maude Apatow as Henrietta.

According to Vanity Fair, Hollywood boasts a "sprawling ensemble of fictional and fact-based characters who battle stereotypes, biases, and abusive industry power players".

Some of those characters based on real people include Rock Hudson (played by Jake Picking), the closeted Hollywood heartthrob who died from AIDS in 1985; Hattie McDaniel (played by Queen Latifah), the Gone With the Wind star who was forced to sit at a segregated table at the 1940 Academy Awards, where she became the first African American to win an Oscar; and Anna May Wong (played by Michelle Krusiec), considered the first Chinese American Hollywood film star, who eventually became so fed up with being cast in stereotypical supporting roles that she decamped for Europe.

What else has Ryan Murphy worked on?

Ryan Murphy is best known for creating/co-creating a number of successful TV series including Glee, American Horror Story, Scream Queens and Pose - earning himself multiple Emmy wins. 

He also directed the 2010 film adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir Eat, Pray, Love.

Hollywood marks Murphy’s first original TV series under his $300 million deal with Netflix, which also includes the upcoming movie, The Prom.

Watch the Hollywood trailer