Emmy-nominated actor Betty Gilpin will feature alongside Julia Roberts and Sean Penn in Starz’s anthology series “Gaslit”.
Based on award-winning podcast “Slow Burn”, the first season of the Robbie Pickering-created show will focus on the Watergate scandal that brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon in 1974.
The story will centre on Martha Mitchell (Roberts). A big personality with an even bigger mouth, Martha is a celebrity Arkansan socialite and wife to Nixon’s loyal attorney general, John Mitchell (Penn).
Despite her party affiliation, she’s the first person to publicly sound the alarm on Nixon’s involvement in Watergate, causing both the presidency and her personal life to unravel.
Gilpin, best known for featuring in TV series “Glow”, will essay the role of Mo Dean, the wife of former White House counsel John Dean, to be played actor Dan Stevens, reported Deadline.
Stevens had recently replaced embattled Hollywood star Armie Hammer on the project.
Also joining the cast are actors Shea Whigham and Darby Camp.
Whigham will play Gordon Liddy, a former FBI agent and chief operative of Nixon’s “Plumbers” unit who spearheads the Watergate espionage operation as part of Nixon’s 1972 reelection campaign.
Camp will essay the role of Marty Mitchell, Martha Mitchell’s daughter, who spent much of her young life living in her mother’s shadow.
“Captain Fantastic” director Matt Ross will helm the series, which will be produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, for Starz.
Roberts will executive produce under her banner Red Om Films along with Gabriel Roth and Josh Levin, and co-executive producers Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill.
Leon Neyfakh, who created the podcast, will consult on the project, which currently in production.