When it comes to pop culture source material, the Watergate scandal is a gift that never stops giving.
There have been countless books and movies based on different elements of the surreal special – at least when viewed through the lens of the 2016 election – moments in history, from All the men of the President arrive Cunning. And now, Gaslit go into the canon. The Starz series, based on the Slow Burn podcast, aims to document the mock robbery and subsequent political fall through a new lens, bypassing typical historical protagonists like President Nixon for those little known player as Martha Mitchell (played by Julia Roberts), the wife of Attorney General John Mitchell (Sean Penn), who has become an outspoken critic of the administration. “I think the enduring quality of Watergate comes from the fact that this is the last time where real power is counted,” host Robbie Pickering said during a recent contest. THR Gifts control panel, powered by Vision Media. “There is a wish made there. [After Watergate] The good guys won. ”
Pickering was joined by Gaslit castmembers Shea Whigham, who plays Nixon agent G. Gordon Liddy; Patrick Walker, who plays Frank Wills, the night security guard who discovered the original break-in at the Watergate Hotel; Allison Tolman, who plays Martha Mitchell’s journalist and confidant Winnie McLendon; and series writer Amelia Grey, who admitted she wasn’t interested in the scandal before accepting the gig. “Robbie and I are doing research Robot Mr. together and while carpooling, I saw a copy of Martha Mitchell’s biography, written by Winnie McLendon, in his car,” she said. CHEAP. “Over an hour into his commute, he told me the story of all these women who were at the center of this scandal and forgotten by history. That’s catnip for me. “
Probably the most famous character in Gaslit was Liddy, who was eventually found guilty of conspiracy, theft, and illegal wiretapping because of his role in the scandal and a reputation as a quirky character. He was played to humorous extremes by Whigham, who said he discovered an overwhelming sense of insecurity in his on-screen alter ego: “He just wanted to be told by Nixon that he was. was a genius and the right person for the job, and he never got to hear it. It is a true unifying theory of humanity that whether we are villains or heroes, everything comes from these stupid motives.”
Walker’s portrayal of security guard Frank Wills is at the heart of the series’ sixth episode, following Wills as he struggles to adjust to his newfound notoriety – and more importantly, that scandal. do not have to pay the bills. “He was reaching for greatness, and this is a guy who didn’t know how to deal with everything that was coming his way so quickly,” Walker said of Wills, who lost his job at Watergate to unwanted attention. for hotels and struggles for a living in Washington, DC “I like that the show doesn’t have to beat him up too much; they showed that he would go home to his mother and have comfort there. “
More Pickering: “There is a green lesson for libertarians who have found champions in history and then when they don’t become an exacting perfect mirror, they look again. In the other way. That’s what they did to Frank and it’s something that we still have a lot of guilt on.”
To learn more about the connection between the Watergate scandal and our current political climate, as well as learn about the members’ favorite episodes, check out the full interview above.
This edition of THR Gifts brought to you by Starz.
