Part 1

Mildred Pierce | Season 1 | Episode 1

Part 1

TV-MA | 1 HR 0 MIN

Teleplay by Todd Haynes & Jon Raymond
Directed by Todd Haynes

Glendale, CA, 1931.

Mildred Pierce throws her husband Bert out because of his affair with a local widow. The harsh economic times have taken a toll on Bert's once lucrative real estate business and Mildred is forced to hunt for work to support herself and two daughters – 11-year-old Veda and 7-year-old Ray. She visits an employment agency on the advice of her neighbor Lucy Gessler, but refuses to consider jobs she feels are beneath her. Flattered by his attention, Mildred starts a casual affair with Wally Burgan, a lawyer who recently squeezed Bert out of his business. After cutting short a job interview with the arrogant fiancée of a movie director, Mildred has lunch at a local diner. When a waitress is fired, Mildred convinces the diner's manager Ida to give her a shot. Later, Mildred tells Lucy she can't suffer the humiliation of waiting on people, but Lucy insists she must. Mildred swears her friend to secrecy, not wanting Veda to know what her mother has been reduced to.

Part 1

1.Part 1

After throwing her cheating husband out, a young mother named Mildred Pierce tries to find work in Depression-era California.

Part 2

2.Part 2

With her pie sales thriving, Mildred sets in motion a plan to start a business for herself and falls for a handsome stranger.

Part 3

3.Part 3

In the wake of tragedy, Mildred opens her new restaurant and reconnects with Monty, whose lethargy tests the bonds between Mildred and Veda.

Part 4

4.Part 4

Mildred opens a profitable new restaurant, but her good fortune is tempered by Veda's manipulation of a smitten society bachelor.

Part 5

5.Part 5

In the miniseries finale, Mildred's attempts to reconcile with her estranged daughter finally pay off, though at a painful price.

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