Starz has taken up Watergate series starring Julia Roberts and Sean Penn, while Armie Hammer will be recasted

Hammer had been in news for sexual violence allegations and graphic messages

Starz has officially picked up Gaslit, an anthology series created by Robbie Pickering (Mr. Robot, Search Party) based on the award-winning Slate podcast Slow Burn. 

The show tells the untold stories of forgotten Watergate personalities, ranging from President Nixon’s opportunistic subordinates go the crazy zealots aiding and abetting their crimes, to the sad stories of whistleblowers whose valuable contributions brought the whole messed-up enterprise crashing down.

The cast

The actors who will still be part of the show include Academy Award-winning actors Julia Roberts (Homecoming) and Sean Penn (Milk). Other stars who had been part of the project previously were Armie Hammer and Joel Edgerton, and Joel’s brother Nash Edgerton was set to direct and executive produce the series along with Joel. But the Edgerton brothers departed the project a few months ago after scheduling conflicts. Hammer and Edgerton’s roles will be recast, and Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic, 28 Hotel Rooms) will be taking over Nash’s role as director and executive producer.

Roberts will be playing Martha Mitchell, the celebrity socialite from Arkansas who first publicly announced Nixon’s involvement in Watergate. Penn will be playing John Mitchell, Nixon’s most trusted advisor and best friend at the time.

Hammer’s controversies

Hammer was set to star in Gaslit, but he came under fire after numerous social media scandals and relationship abuse allegations. It’s not clear whether the actor departed the project on these grounds, but he did step away from other projects as well, so it could be a reason.

Hammer had been in the news since January after several women came forward with sexual violence allegations and private messages referencing cannibalistic fetishes which claimed to be sent by the actor. Hammer had to step out from the upcoming film Shotgun Wedding and also The Godfather series being developed at Paramount Plus, aside from being dropped by his agency WME.

You may also like: Black Mirror season 6 updates