Starz unveiled the first teaser trailer for their upcoming Watergate limited series “Gaslit” on Wednesday, and viewers would be forgiven for doing a double-take when first seeing Sean Penn as former Attorney General John Mitchell. Penn dons heavy makeup for the role, but he’s not the primary focus of the series – instead that’s to his wife Martha Mitchell, played by Julia Roberts.
Martha Mitchell was the first person to publicly sound the alarm on Nixon’s involvement in Watergate, and as a result she became the focus of an intense White House smear campaign enacted by her own husband meant to discredit her. Her story is the central thrust of “Gaslit,” which will premiere on Sunday, April 24 across all Starz platforms in the U.S. and Canada.
“’Gaslit’ is the Watergate story you’ve never heard before,” says Robbie Pickering, creator, executive producer and showrunner of ‘Gaslit.’ “At the center of the show is Martha Mitchell, an unlikely whistleblower who is the first person to bust the whole scandal wide open and ultimately becomes the subject of a vicious White House smear campaign enacted in part by her own beloved husband, Attorney General John Mitchell. We also feature John Dean, a hotshot administration lawyer dragged into the coverup and thrust into the spotlight with his acerbic, whip-smart wife, Mo. The goal in making this project has always been to bring a real humanity to this subject, which yields a far richer and more relatable story than the standard male-driven political dramas about the period. I can’t wait for viewers to experience the extraordinary performances in this remarkable ensemble, led by Julia Roberts, brought to life in this thrilling, stranger-than-fiction tale of marriage, love, betrayal, and ultimately, hope.”
“Gaslit” is based on the first season of the podcast “Slow Burn,” but is not the only upcoming series about the Watergate scandal – HBO also has the more comedic take “White House Plumbers” from “Veep” showrunner David Mandel on tap.
The impressive ensemble cast for “Gaslit” includes Dan Stevens as John Dean, Betty Gilpin as Mo Dean, Shea Whigham as G. Gordon Liddy and Darby Camp as Marty Mitchell.
The show was created and executive produced by Robbie Pickering. Matt Ross directed and executive produced. Sam Esmail, via his overall deal with UCP and Chad Hamilton served as executive producers under their production banner Esmail Corp. Roberts executive produced under her banner Red Om Films, along with co-executive producers Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill. Anonymous Content and Slate’s Gabriel Roth and Josh Levin also executive produced. Leon Neyfakh, who created the podcast, consulted on the project. “Gaslit” is produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, for STARZ.
