# Angelyne (2022 TV series)
*Angelyne* is an American biographical drama limited series that premiered on the streaming service Peacock on May 19, 2022, starring [Emmy Rossum](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmy-rossum) as Angelyne, the Los Angeles billboard celebrity who became famous in the 1980s for advertisements of herself that offered no product, no explanation, and only her name and phone number.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/angelyne/s01) The five-episode series is loosely inspired by a 2017 *Hollywood Reporter* article that revealed Angelyne's secret past as a Polish-born daughter of [Holocaust survivors](https://www.edgepedia.org/holocaust-survivors), and it frames its story around fame and the elusive nature of truth itself.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/angelyne/s01)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and premiere | Peacock; all five episodes released May 19, 2022[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/angelyne/s01) |
| Created by | Nancy Oliver; Metacritic lists Allison Miller as co-creator[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/angelyne/season-1/) |
| Lead | Emmy Rossum as Angelyne, also executive producer[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/angelyne/s01) |
| Basis | Gary Baum's *Hollywood Reporter* articles on Angelyne's identity[3](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/angelyne-tv-review-2022) |
| Critical scores | 87% on the Tomatometer (23 reviews); Metascore 74, generally favorable (15 reviews)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/angelyne/s01) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/angelyne/season-1/) |
| Rating and runtime | TV-MA; episodes run roughly 42 to 52 minutes[4](https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/angelyne) |
| Awards | Two 2022 Primetime Emmy nominations, for Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic) and Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7632118/awards/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and approach
The series follows the mysterious blonde bombshell who took over Los Angeles billboards in the mid-1980s, planting the seed for famous-for-being-famous influencer culture.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/angelyne/s01) Rather than a conventional biography, it is built as a faux documentary in which characters contradict one another, and on-screen text flags the uncertainty of the record itself: an early scene is dated as either 1981 or 1982, depending on who you ask.[6](https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/angelyne-peacock-nbc-emmy-rossum-tv-series) Showrunner Allison Miller described the method directly: "Here's an unconventional woman, and let's tell her story in an unconventional way," with dance numbers and competing narrators among the flourishes.[6](https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/angelyne-peacock-nbc-emmy-rossum-tv-series)
The subject's own elusiveness supplies the structure. The real Angelyne, who drove a hot pink Corvette and sold autographs and merchandise, gave shifting accounts of her origins, sometimes mentioning a midwest upbringing and sometimes Idaho.[3](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/angelyne-tv-review-2022) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/may/19/blond-billboard-bombshell-angelyne-la-icon-martin-freeman-emmy-rossum) The series treats that instability as its theme; the critic Clint Worthington wrote that its strength lies in a "nuanced embrace of the lie."[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/angelyne/critic-reviews/?season=season-1)
### Cast and characters
Emmy Rossum, known for *[Shameless](https://www.edgepedia.org/shameless-american-tv-series)*, plays the title role, with [Martin Freeman](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-freeman) as Harold Wallach, the series' version of the printing business owner who backed the billboard campaign, [Alex Karpovsky](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-karpovsky) as journalist Jeff Glaser, Hamish Linklater as Rick Krause, Lukas Gage as Max Allen, Charlie Rowe as Freddy Messina, and Tonatiuh as Andre Casiano.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/angelyne/s01) • [9](https://epguides.com/Angelyne/) • [10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-05-19/angelyne-emmy-rossum-peacock-show-review) Rossum's transformation was extensive: prosthetics including a three-pound breast plate, extensions, and an approximation of Angelyne's breathy coo, playing the character across four decades.[11](https://www.thewrap.com/angelyne-peacock-series-review-emmy-rossum/)
### Episodes
All five episodes were released on May 19, 2022.[4](https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/angelyne)
1. "Dream Machine" (52 min): deep dives, punk shows, blood pacts, Corvettes, betrayals; Angelyne swallows a band and a man, whole.
2. "Gods and Fairies" (44 min): billboards, power plays, casting couches; Angelyne finds her vehicle to fame.
3. "Glow in the Dark Queen of the Universe" (42 min): murals, centerfolds, movie roles; exposure leaves Angelyne exposed.
4. "The Tease" (47 min): car crashes, private detectives, lawsuits; Angelyne agrees to make a documentary about her life.
5. "Pink Clouds" (43 min): lounge acts, lost years, pink escapes; the truth about the world's need for the truth about Angelyne.[4](https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/angelyne)
## Development
Rossum began developing the project after the 2017 *Hollywood Reporter* exposé on Angelyne's identity, optioned the article, and spent about four years bringing the series to Peacock; she pitched it to network executives fully in character.[12](https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/angelyne-emmy-rossum-interview) • [13](https://www.avclub.com/emmy-rossum-interview-angelyne-peacock-1848937868) Angelyne signed over the rights to her story and met with Rossum during production, but in interviews after the series aired she expressed disapproval with how it turned out.[12](https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/angelyne-emmy-rossum-interview) Rossum's response to the star's rebellion was that "she does what feels right for her, and we respect that."[6](https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/angelyne-peacock-nbc-emmy-rossum-tv-series)
## Reception
Critical response was generally favorable. Rotten Tomatoes recorded an 87% Tomatometer from 23 reviews, with the critics consensus reading, "Emmy Rossum brings remarkable depth to a cipher in *Angelyne*, a glitzy look at fame for fame's sake where the inscrutability is the point."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/angelyne/s01) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 74 based on 15 reviews, with 11 positive and 4 mixed.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/angelyne/season-1/) Reviewers singled out Rossum's performance: [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club)'s Alison Foreman gave the season a 100, writing that the show makes "that enigmatic face on billboards about as fully realized as you could hope," while the *Los Angeles Times* Robert Lloyd, at 50, found the tone hard to read, unsure "what's meant to be funny ha-ha and what's meant to be funny strange."[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/angelyne/critic-reviews/?season=season-1) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/angelyne/season-1/)
The series received two Primetime Emmy nominations in 2022, for Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic), for "The Tease," and Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup, for "Glow in the Dark Queen of the Universe," plus a Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Award nomination in 2023, and it won a ReFrame Stamp as one of the IMDbPro Top 200 Most Popular TV Titles of 2021-2022.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7632118/awards/)
## The real Angelyne
The woman at the center of the series built her fame on a single image. In 1984 a billboard featuring a pouting blonde appeared on [Sunset Boulevard](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunset-boulevard) declaring "Angelyne rocks" with a phone number and nothing else; within a decade there were about 200 Angelyne billboards around Los Angeles, on the [Sunset Strip](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunset-strip), La Brea Avenue, and other corridors, advertising her name and phone number.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/may/19/blond-billboard-bombshell-angelyne-la-icon-martin-freeman-emmy-rossum) • [14](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-05-19/angelyne-timeline-billboard-corvette-emmy-rossum-peacock) She was famous for being famous before [Paris Hilton](https://www.edgepedia.org/paris-hilton) or the Kardashians, selling nothing more or less than herself.[3](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/angelyne-tv-review-2022)
Her identity remained largely unknown until the 2017 *Hollywood Reporter* article, which reported that she was born [Ronia Tamar Goldberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/angelyne), a Polish-born daughter of Holocaust survivors.[15](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/peacock/3-miniseries-on-peacock-you-probably-overlooked) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/angelyne/s01) Her later public life included a 2003 California gubernatorial recall candidacy in which she earned 2,536 votes, finishing 29th, and another run for governor in 2021.[16](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/05/the-real-story-of-angelyne-tv-show-emmy-rossum) • [14](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-05-19/angelyne-timeline-billboard-corvette-emmy-rossum-peacock)
## References
1. [Angelyne: Limited Series, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/angelyne/s01)
2. [Angelyne season 1 reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/angelyne/season-1/)
3. [Angelyne movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/angelyne-tv-review-2022)
4. [Angelyne, Peacock](https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/angelyne)
5. [Angelyne (TV Mini Series 2022) - Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7632118/awards/)
6. [Why Angelyne Embraced Her Peacock Bio-Series, Then Rejected It, LAist](https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/angelyne-peacock-nbc-emmy-rossum-tv-series)
7. ['Gorgeous is my business' ... how blond billboard bombshell Angelyne became an LA icon, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/may/19/blond-billboard-bombshell-angelyne-la-icon-martin-freeman-emmy-rossum)
8. [Angelyne critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/angelyne/critic-reviews/?season=season-1)
9. [Angelyne, epguides.com](https://epguides.com/Angelyne/)
10. ['Angelyne' review: Peacock fails to find woman behind the billboard, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-05-19/angelyne-emmy-rossum-peacock-show-review)
11. [Angelyne Review: Emmy Rossum Transforms in Peacock Series, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/angelyne-peacock-series-review-emmy-rossum/)
12. [Emmy Rossum On Playing The Real-Life Angelyne, NYLON](https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/angelyne-emmy-rossum-interview)
13. [Emmy Rossum on transforming into Los Angeles' mysterious Angelyne, The A.V. Club](https://www.avclub.com/emmy-rossum-interview-angelyne-peacock-1848937868)
14. [Timeline: Key moments in the career of Angelyne, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-05-19/angelyne-timeline-billboard-corvette-emmy-rossum-peacock)
15. [3 miniseries on Peacock you probably overlooked, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/peacock/3-miniseries-on-peacock-you-probably-overlooked)
16. [The Real Story of 'Angelyne' Is Even Harder to Know Than It Seems, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/05/the-real-story-of-angelyne-tv-show-emmy-rossum)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series › Music, arts, and biographical docuseries*
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