By James White | Posted 23 Feb 2020

Just a few days ago, when reporting on this new Will Ferrell/Paul Rudd comedy TV project in the works, we noted the continuing trend for adapting podcasts to other media. That's the case once again for this new potential show Gaslit, which has Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Armie Hammer and Joel Edgerton on board to star.

In fact, given the cast and the fact that it comes from Mr. Robot's Sam Esmail, who also worked with Roberts on Amazon's pod-sourced Homecoming, you can pretty much count it as a show that will be on screens as soon as it lands a home.

Gaslit will adapt Slate's audio documentary series that serves as a modern take on Watergate that focuses on the untold stories and forgotten characters of the scandal, from Nixon’s bumbling, 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 plays Martha Mitchell, a celebrity Arkansan socialite and wife to Nixon’s loyal Attorney General, John Mitchell, who has a big personality and an even bigger mouth. 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. Penn plays her husband John Mitchell. As Attorney General, Mitchell is Nixon’s most trusted advisor and best friend. Temperamental, foulmouthed and ruthless – yet hopelessly in love with his famously outspoken wife – he’ll be forced to choose between Martha and the President.

Hammer plays John Dean, the young White House Counsel torn between his ambition and his struggle with whether he can lie to protect the President. Edgerton will play G. Gordon Liddy, Korean War veteran, former FBI agent and chief operative of Nixon’s "Plumbers" unit, tasked with plugging embarrassing leaks in the wake of the Pentagon Papers.

Robbie Pickering is handling show-running duties, while Edgerton and brother Nash are on to direct the episodes. Given that it comes from Universal Content Productions, you might expect it to go straight to the company's Peacock streaming service when that is up and running, but Amazon is also likely to show real interest...