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LOS ANGELES, April 22 (UPI) -- Dan Stevens and Betty Gilpin, who play John and Maureen Dean in Gaslit, premiering Sunday on Starz, said the Watergate drama shows the wives of Nixon conspirators saw through their husbands. "What you don't read on Wikipedia or any history books is about the wives and daughters of these men who were mentioned," Stevens, 39, said on a Television Critics Association Zoom panel.
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Julia Roberts plays Martha Mitchell, wife of Nixon's Attorney General John Mitchell (Sean Penn). Martha was detained by the government to prevent her from speaking to the press, though she eventually talked to UPI.
John Dean was a lawyer in Nixon's White House Counsel. Gilpin, 35, said Gaslit shows how Maureen Dean, or Mo for short, believed her husband and the Nixon administration were not the criminal masterminds they thought they were.
"We're seeing that aspect of a bunch of people who think they're in The Godfather or think they're in All the President's Men," Gilpin said. "Martha Mitchell and Mo Dean are like, 'You're a fart joke, bud. Take a seat. Have a sip of water.'"
Both John Mitchell and John Dean were involved with the Nixon-ordered break-in at the Watergate building and attempts to cover it up. The Mitchells lived at the Watergate complex at the time of the break in.
Although Gaslit tells the Watergate story from the womens' perspective, Gilpin said the show does not inflate their roles. Gilpin said Martha and Mo were not the whistleblowers who brought down Nixon, despite Martha's attempts to expose her husband.
"It's not a girl-boss history rewrite," Gilpin said. "They're really women in 1972 struggling with the obstacles that women of the time dealt with. I think that's also why we don't hear about it, because even the heroes of the story were racist, sexist and marginalizing the people whose stories should be told."
Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein would write the stories that exposed the Nixon administration. Woodward and Bernstein were the subjects of All the President's Men, not Dean and Mitchell, as Gilpin pointed out.
Gaslit was created by Rob Pickering, a story editor for Mr. Robot. Its creator, Sam Esmail, executive produces Gaslit.
Neither Stevens nor Gilpin were born yet in 1972. They studied the history of Watergate to prepare for Gaslit.
Gilpin said the women of Watergate illustrated to her how far society has come. Gilpin compared Maureen to modern-day women who feel comfortable advertising themselves on social media.
"Now, someone's public persona is the branding of their authentic self and real self," Gilpin said. "Back then, your public self was very formal, austere and this stiff, Norman Rockwell version of yourself."
Gilpin said Martha was one woman who did not shrink back in the face of powerful men. Martha had been a popular socialite prior to her involvement in Watergate.
"Martha Mitchell was sort of refreshing even to people who didn't agree with her politics," Gilpin said.
Stevens, who is British, said he has been learning more about American history in the 10 years he's lived in the States. To prepare to portray John, Stevens listened to the audiobook of Michael Dobbs' King Richard, which included Nixon tapes.
"You're reminded of the actual voices of these people, rather than just seeing it in dry narrative," Stevens said. "That's, I hope, what we're doing with this."
New episodes of Gaslit air Sunday nights at 8 p.m. on Starz.
