Mildred Pierce (miniseries) Mildred Pierce (miniseries) Mildred Pierce is a five-part miniseries that first aired on HBO on March 27, 2011. Adapted from James M. Cain's 1941 novel of the same name, it was directed by Todd Haynes, and starred Kate Winslet in the title role, alongside Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel Wood, and Melissa Leo. Carter Burwell wrote the original score for the miniseries. It is the second adaptation of the novel, after the 1945 film noir produced by Warner Bros. and starring Joan Crawford. "Mildred Pierce" depicts an overprotective, self-sacrificing mother during the Great Depression who finds herself separated from her husband,
Mildred Pierce (film) 1942, two years earlier, Joan Crawford had been released from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer due to a mutual agreement. Crawford campaigned for the lead role in "Mildred Pierce", which most lead actresses did not want because of the implied age as mother of a teenage daughter. Warner Bros. and director Michael Curtiz had originally wanted Bette Davis to play the title role, but she declined. Curtiz did not want Crawford to play the part. Curtiz campaigned for Barbara Stanwyck, who was working on "My Reputation" (1946) at the time. When he learned that Stanwyck was not, however, going to be cast, he then