As White House Counsel, Dean became the Nixon Administration's scapegoat for the Watergate burglary and subsequent cover-up. Dean -- along with Nixon aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman -- was fired by the president in a single, infamous evening known as the "Saturday Night Massacre". Attorney General Richard Kleindienstal also resigned that night. For most of the American public, the sudden departures marked the first sign that something was rotten in the Nixon White House. In his testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee, Dean became the first administration official to publicly accuse Nixon of directly being involved in the Watergate scandal. He has since written several books and currently serves as a political commentator.

Dean himself will serve as executive producer on the project, along with manager Rick Berg. Screenwriter Evan Parter has been tapped to write the script for the film.