The Watergate scandal hasn’t exactly been underexplored in film and TV. All the President’s Men unpacked how reporters at The Washington Post exposed the details way back in 1976. Even recently, Gaslit on Starz explored the scandal from the perspective of Martha Mitchell.
But you probably haven’t seen the version of Watergate depicted in White House Plumbers — unless you saw Veep, I suppose. This satirical and exaggerated take on the story treats the whole thing like the farce it was, turning E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy into caricatures and relying on the timeless joke that Washington political operators are all complete idiots.
Here’s what happened in White House Plumbers Episode 1:
- We were warned that while the events depicted are based real life, the names of those involved haven’t been changed to protect the innocent since almost all the perpetrators were found guilty anyway. This set the tone rather well.
- We were introduced to E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy are they were introduced to each other as members of the Special Investigations Unit.
- The SIU planned to prove that Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers in collusion with Russia, and sought to prove this by breaking into his psychiatrist’s office with help from some Cuban thieves-for-hire that Hunt knew from his involvement in the Bay of Pigs invasion.
- The break-in was a mess, but luckily the press blamed it on junkies.
- The SIU was disbanded, but Hunt and Liddy were moved to Nixon’s re-election campaign.
White House Plumbers Episode 2 Release Date/Time
The latest episode is scheduled to release on HBO and HBO Max on Monday, May 8, at 9 pm ET.
Where to watch White House Plumbers online
As mentioned above, White House Plumbers is exclusive to HBO and HBO Max.
Is there a trailer?
There is! And you can watch it right here:
How many episodes will White House Plumbers have?
White House Plumbers will have five episodes. The full release schedule can be found below:
- Episode 1, May 1
- Episode 2, May 8
- Episode 3, May 15
- Episode 4, May 22
- Episode 5, May 29
Who is in the cast?
White House Plumbers stars a fantastic big-name cast playing many members of Nixon’s administration, including:
- Woody Harrelson as E. Howard Hunt
- Lena Headey as Dorothy Hunt
- Justin Theroux as G. Gordon Liddy
- Judy Greer as Fran Liddy
