Gaslit, a new anthology series from executive producer Sam Esmail and creator Robbie Pickering (Mr. Robot), has found a home at Starz, per Variety. It’s been a full year since the project, based on the hit podcast Slow Burn and its extensive reinvestigation into the Watergate scandal, was first announced; in that time, Gaslit has lost both Joel and Nash Edgerton, who were set to star in and executive produce the series, with Nash in the director’s chair. Armie Hammer also departed the series recently in the wake of ongoing allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct, many of which originated with as-yet-unverified screenshots of social media and text conversations. While Gaslit looks to recast Hammer’s role, Julia Roberts and Sean Penn both remain attached to headline the anthology series, which explores “the untold stories and forgotten characters of Watergate, from Nixon’s opportunistic subordinates to the deranged zealots aiding and abetting their crimes to the tragic whistleblowers who would eventually bring the whole rotten enterprise crashing down.”
Roberts, who previously worked with Esmail on Homecoming, is set to play Martha Mitchell, Arkansas socialite and the first to blow the whistle on Richard Nixon’s Watergate dealings. Mitchell was married to John Mitchell (Penn), Nixon’s Attorney General and one of his most trusted personal friends. Actor and filmmaker Matt Ross, whose directing credits include Captain Fantastic and 28 Hotel Rooms, is replacing Nash Edgerton as executive producer and director of Gaslit.