Leo Sylver takes over the studio and is threatened to remove all anti-Nazi sentiment from his newest picture if he wants it to get distribution. Meanwhile, Norma is at risk of losing her home, and Jack bets he can make a star of Victor.
Charlie can't stand new writing partner Libby until she seduces him. June dumps Roland; Norma inherits a performing dog; Victor begins his ascent to stardom; Rachel Lipton signs a 3-picture deal.
Victor receives acting lessons from Norma, gets injections for back pain, and then is humiliated when he's formally introduced to the public. Charlie learns Libby has an open marriage. Mary markets her own lipstick.
When Victor's morphine use becomes a problem, Jack tries to cover his tracks. Victor stays in Norma's guest house and she helps him get clean. Charlie discovers Libby had his name cut from the picture. Rachel endorses Mary's lipstick.
Following a car wreck that left Rachel in a coma, the cover story is blown by a reporter who reveals Victor was driving. Charlie uses his grief to craft a script as Fabian and Norma console each other, which they each later regret.
Leo options a Broadway play for a black actress, which the Hays Code prevents her from making. Rachel feels her career is ruined by a scar; Charlie gets writing help from the mailboy; Victor takes Norma to a drag bar where she's arrested.
June accepts a date with costar Colin Rhome, unaware that he's her father. Victor becomes annoyed by Colin's unprofessionalism. Charlie threatens to quit, so Leo fires him. Norma cons Fabian into designing a dress for a movie premiere.
After Colin drops dead, Mary tells June that he was her father. Fabian steals Colin's corpse so a distraught June can spend time with the dad she never knew. Meanwhile, Rachel agrees to extend her contract if Leo rehires Charlie.
To quell gay rumors, Danny Matthews proposes to Rachel. Fabian confesses his bisexuality to Mary and Leo. Jack blackmails Norma to sniff out someone from a pesky morality group.
Mobster Eddie Moran causes issues at the studio and sweeps Norma off her feet, so Mary exposes him. Meanwhile, Charlie is forced to revise his script when Stan Lunquist, a member of the Legion of Decency, shows up on the set.
A biopic about Oscar Wilde is a disaster. Victor is unaware he's portraying a gay man, Charlie is forced to rewrite Wilde's sexuality, Fabian gets his ex a role in the movie, and Norma is assaulted by the director, who's been dating Mary.
When Fabian's niece Peggy visits, she's corrupted by Norma, who finagles the girl a role in a movie. Meanwhile, Rachel finds herself dating both playful Victor and uptight Charlie.
Letitia betrays Mary by listening in and reporting the details of her private telephone conversation. Rachel quits a film and is replaced by Norma, who is miscast and drives Charlie crazy with rewrites. Victor tries to get Fabian in shape.