Gaslit (TV series)

Gaslit is an American political thriller television limited series based on the first season of the podcast Slow Burn by Leon Neyfakh. It stars Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Dan Stevens, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, and Darby Camp. It premiered on Starz on April 24, 2022.

Gaslit
Genre	Political thriller
Created by	Robbie Pickering
Based on	Slow Burn by Leon Neyfakh
Directed by	Matt Ross
Starring	Julia Roberts Sean Penn Dan Stevens Betty Gilpin Shea Whigham Darby Camp
Composer	Mac Quayle
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producers	Robbie Pickering Matt Ross Sam Esmail Chad Hamilton Julia Roberts Gabriel Roth Josh Levin
Producers	Caroline James Gregg Tilson
Cinematography	Larkin Seiple
Editor	Joe Leonard
Production companies	Esmail Corp Anonymous Content Red Om Films Slate Universal Content Productions
Original release
Network	Starz
Release	April 24 (2022-04-24) – June 12, 2022 (2022-06-12)

Premise

Gaslit begins in early 1972 and follows the story of the Watergate scandal through the lives of several individuals on its periphery.^[1] Nixon, for example, is rarely seen, while the main protagonist is Martha Mitchell—known as "The Mouth from the South" due to her propensity for talking to the press, often at inopportune times for her husband, John. He opens the series as Nixon's Attorney General. She is aware that her behavior makes her unpopular with the government and her husband, on one occasion telling the latter "get another wife if you want a silent one".^[2] Seen as a liability by both, she eventually blows the whistle on Nixon's knowledge of the activities of his staffer.^[3]

Other perspectives come from the burglary's coordinator, G. Gordon Liddy, who leads a gang of ex-FBI agents and Cuban exiles.^[4] He is also presented as a Nazi sympathizer—"an Apocalypse Now-style menace, a sage spouting nonsense who likes to hold his hand over a burning flame"^[2]—who presents the White House with a grand plan for the wholesale infiltration of the Democratic Party. John Dean, White House Counsel,^[5] is at first pleased to be chosen by the President himself for his position, but becomes increasingly unnerved at the extent of the administration's involvement in criminality until he realizes he is being set up as a fall guy. His personal life is also complicated by his engagement and subsequent marriage to a woman described as a "leftie" in the review by The Independent.^[4] The Daily Telegraph summarizes Gaslit as focusing "on the Watergate characters who were right at the center of the scandal but who have faded from public memory";^[3] similarly, The Hollywood Reporter identifies the series as refocusing the events of 1972–1975 away from the white men in positions of political power to white wives, a black security guard, and Italian and Hispanic FBI field agents.^[6]

Cast

Main

• Julia Roberts as Martha Mitchell
• Sean Penn as John N. Mitchell
• Dan Stevens as John Dean
• Betty Gilpin as Mo Dean
• Shea Whigham as G. Gordon Liddy
• Darby Camp as Marty Mitchell

Recurring

• Allison Tolman as Winzola "Winnie" McLendon^[7][8][9]
• J.C. Mackenzie as Howard Hunt
• Chris Bauer as James McCord
• Chris Messina as Agent Angelo Lano
• Carlos Valdes as Agent Paul Magallanes
• Hamish Linklater as Jeb Magruder
• John Carroll Lynch as L. Patrick Gray
• Jordi Caballero as Eugenio Martínez
• Oscar Torre as Virgilio Gonzalez
• Jeff Doucette as Senator Sam Ervin
• Patrick Walker^[10] as Frank Wills
• Patton Oswalt as Charles Colson
• Nat Faxon as H. R. Haldeman
• Martha Kelly as Rose Mary Woods
• Erinn Hayes as Peggy Ebbitt
• Raphael Sbarge as Charles N. Shaffer
• Keisuke Hoashi as Senator Daniel Inouye
• Anne Dudek as Diana Oweiss
• Chris Conner as John Ehrlichman
• Brian Geraghty as Peter Bailin (based on Steve King)
• Nelson Franklin as Richard A. Moore
• Reed Diamond as Mark Felt
• John Ventimiglia as Judge John Sirica
• Jim Meskimen as Senator Edward Gurney
• Johnny Berchtold as Jay Jennings
• Adam Ray as Ron Ziegler
• Kat Foster as Barbara Walters
• Billy Smith as Ken Ebbitt
• Asha Kamali as Linda
• Aleksandar Filimonović as Zolton
• Marin Ireland as Judy Hoback Miller

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Will"	Matt Ross	Robbie Pickering	April 24, 2022 (2022-04-24)	0.224[11]
2	"California"	Matt Ross	Robbie Pickering & Amelia Gray	May 1, 2022 (2022-05-01)	0.227[12]
3	"King George"	Matt Ross	Robbie Pickering & Amelia Gray	May 8, 2022 (2022-05-08)	0.204[13]
4	"Malum in Se"	Matt Ross	Alberto Roldán & Amelia Gray	May 15, 2022 (2022-05-15)	0.194[14]
5	"Honeymoon"	Matt Ross	Robbie Pickering & Anayat Fakhraie	May 22, 2022 (2022-05-22)	0.208[15]
6	"Tuffy"	Matt Ross	Uzoamaka Maduka & Sofya Levitsky-Weitz	May 29, 2022 (2022-05-29)	0.217[16]
7	"Year of the Rat"	Matt Ross	Amelia Gray	June 5, 2022 (2022-06-05)	0.266[17]
8	"Final Days"	Matt Ross	Robbie Pickering	June 12, 2022 (2022-06-12)	0.339[18]

Production

Gaslit is a political thriller based on the first season of the Slate podcast Slow Burn. The series from Universal Content Productions was announced in February 2020, with Sam Esmail attached to executive produce and Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Armie Hammer and Joel Edgerton joining the cast. Edgerton was also set to direct the series along with his brother Nash Edgerton.^[19] Hammer would exit the series due to scheduling conflicts in January 2021.^[20] In February, the series was picked up by Starz, while both Edgerton brothers also exited the series. Matt Ross joined as the new director.^[21] Dan Stevens would be cast to replace Hammer in April,^[22] with Betty Gilpin, Darby Camp and Shea Whigham joining in May and Whigham replacing Edgerton.^[23]

Filming began that same month in Los Angeles, California.^[23] In July 2021, Allison Tolman, J.C. Mackenzie, Chris Bauer, Chris Messina and Hamish Linklater joined the cast in recurring roles.^[24] Penn had refused to return to the series until all cast and crew on the production had the COVID-19 vaccine.^[25] In September, the studio and Penn reached a compromise where Penn would film his scenes in two weeks with a vaccinated production crew.^[26] Fourteen cast members were confirmed for recurring roles in October.^[27] On February 2, 2022, the series was given an April 24, 2022 premiere date.^[28] In an interview, Pickering said the series was not a "girlboss overcorrect of history" or a "Wikipedia run down" but that their goal was to accurately depict the historical events. "Anyone can go and read a book about this or the Wikipedia entry," Stevens said, "but there are human stories that illustrate the depth."^[29]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 42 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The website's consensus reads: "Fronted by a nervy Julia Roberts, Gaslit is less a slow burn than an acting extravaganza of big personalities enmeshed in historic scandal."^[30] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 70 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[31]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Gaslit

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Will"	April 24, 2022	0.02	0.224[11]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	"California"	May 1, 2022	0.01	0.227[12]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
3	"King George"	May 8, 2022	0.01	0.204[13]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
4	"Malum in Se"	May 15, 2022	0.00	0.194[14]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
5	"Honeymoon"	May 22, 2022	0.02	0.208[15]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
6	"Tuffy"	May 29, 2022	0.02	0.217[16]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
7	"Year of the Rat"	June 5, 2022	0.02	0.266[17]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
8	"Final Days"	June 12, 2022	0.03	0.339[18]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2022	Hollywood Critics Association Awards	Best Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology Series	Gaslit	Nominated	[32]
		Best Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology Series	Sean Penn	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology Series	Julia Roberts	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology Series	Dan Stevens	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology Series	Betty Gilpin	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Larkin Seiple (for "Will")	Nominated	[33]
		Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup	Kazu Hiro, Vincent Van Dyke, Richard Redrefsen, Christopher Nelson, Michael Ornelaz, and Kelly Golden (for "Final Days")	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special	Kevin Buchholz, Stefani Feldman, Sang Kim, Dan Kremer, Adam Parrish-King, Sam Munoz, Jordan Aldinger, Ben Zales, Chris Rummel, Jacob McNaughton, and Noel Vought (for "Year of the Rat")	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	John W. Cook II, Ben Wilkins, and Devendra Cleary (for "Final Days")	Nominated
	Set Decorators Society of America Awards	Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a Television Movie or Limited Series	Jennifer Lukehart and Daniel Novotny	Nominated	[34]
2023	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Limited Series	Gaslit	Nominated	[35]
		Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television	Julia Roberts	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television	Shea Whigham	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television	Betty Gilpin	Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film	Julia Roberts	Nominated	[36]
	Golden Reel Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Broadcast Long Form Effects and Foley	Kevin W. Buchholz, Stefani Feldman, Dan Kremer, Adam Parrish, Sam Munoz, Jordan Aldinger, Jacob McNaughton, Noel Vought	Nominated	[37]
	Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards	Best Special Make-Up Effects in a Television Series, Television Limited or Miniseries or Television New Media Series	Kazu Hiro, Richard Redlefsen, Mike Ornela	Nominated	[38]

References

1. Lawler, Kelly. "Review: In 'Gaslit,' Julia Roberts and Sean Penn treat Watergate as a farce". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
2. Nicholson, Rebecca (April 24, 2022). "Gaslit review – a star-powered Watergate drama that grips and doesn't let go". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
3. Singh, Anita (April 24, 2022). "Gaslit, review: Julia Roberts shines in the forgotten story behind the Watergate scandal". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
4. "A sublime Julia Roberts can't save new Watergate series Gaslit – review". The Independent. April 24, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
5. "John W. Dean, III (White House Special Files: Staff Member and Office Files)". nixonlibrary.gov. Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
6. Han, Angie (April 23, 2022). "Julia Roberts and Sean Penn in Starz's 'Gaslit': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
7. "winnie-mclendon-newspaperwoman-magazine-writer-author-and-literary-agent". press.org. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
8. McLendon, Winzola (1979). Martha: The Life of Martha Mitchell. Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-41124-8. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
9. "Winzola P. McLendon Obituary (2012)". The Washington Post. Legacy.com. March 5, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
10. "Patrick Walker on playing forgotten hero Frank Wills in Gaslit". May 29, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
11. Metcalf, Mitch (April 26, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 4.24.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
12. Metcalf, Mitch (May 3, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 5.1.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
13. Metcalf, Mitch (May 10, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 5.8.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
14. Salem, Mitch (May 17, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 5.15.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
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19. White, Peter (February 21, 2020). "Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Armie Hammer & Joel Edgerton To Star In Watergate Drama Gaslit, UCP Series Based On Slow Burn Podcast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
20. White, Peter (January 14, 2021). "Armie Hammer Has Exited UCP's Gaslit Series To Do Paramount+'s The Offer". Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
21. White, Peter (February 22, 2021). "Gaslit: Julia Roberts & Sean Penn-Fronted Watergate Drama Lands At Starz, Joel & Nash Edgerton Exit, Matt Ross Joins As Director & EP". Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
22. Kroll, Justin (April 2021). "Dan Stevens Replaces Armie Hammer In Starz's Julia Roberts-Sean Penn Watergate Series Gaslit". Archived from the original on April 1, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
23. Petski, Denise (May 13, 2021). "Gaslit: Betty Gilpin To Play Mo Dean, Joining Dan Stevens As John Dean In Starz's Watergate Drama; Shea Whigham & Darby Camp Also Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
24. Petski, Denise (July 1, 2021). "Gaslit: Allison Tolman, J.C. MacKenzie, Chris Bauer, Hamish Linklater, Chris Messina Join Starz's Watergate Drama". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
25. Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 22, 2021). "Sean Penn Line In Sand: Won't Return To Watergate Series Gaslit Unless All Cast & Crew Get Mandatory Covid Vaccinations". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
26. Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 30, 2021). "Sean Penn Returns To Gaslit; Compromise Is That Entire Crew Is Covid Vaccinated For Two Weeks He Has Left To Shoot". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
27. Petski, Denise (October 15, 2021). "Gaslit: Patton Oswalt, Erinn Hayes, Patrick Walker, Raphael Sbarge Among 14 Cast In Starz's Watergate Drama". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
28. Schwartz, Ryan (February 2, 2022). "Gaslit: Julia Roberts and Sean Penn Headline Starz Watergate Drama — Watch Trailer, Get Premiere Date". TVLine. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
29. White, Peter (February 2, 2022). "Gaslit: Watergate Drama Is Not A 'Girlboss Overcorrect' Or 'Wikipedia Run Down'; Starz Unveils First-Look At Julia Roberts/Sean Penn Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
30. "Gaslit: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
31. "Gaslit: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
32. Petski, Denise (July 7, 2022). "This Is Us, Succession, Severance, Ted Lasso Lead 2022 HCA TV Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
33. Moreau, Jordan (July 12, 2022). "Emmys 2022: Complete Nominations List". Variety. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
34. "Set Decorators Announce Television Nominees for SDSA Awards, Where Lizzo Will Take on Harry Potter". Below the Line. June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
35. Nordyke, Kimberly (January 15, 2023). "Critics Choice Awards: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
36. Nordyke, Kimberly (January 10, 2023). "Golden Globes: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
37. Giardina, Carolyn (January 9, 2023). "'Everything Everywhere All At Once' Leads Sound Editors' Golden Reel Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
38. Pedersen, Erik (January 11, 2023). "Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards Nominations: 'The Batman', 'Elvis', 'The Whale' & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 11, 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Gaslit at IMDb