Entertainment NOW

2 • April 30 - May 6, 2023 Entertainment Now By Sarah Passingham TV Media T he recent precedent-set- ting arrest of a former pres- ident of the United States only deepens the satirical value of the latest limited series, "White House Plumbers," which premieres Monday, May 1, on HBO and HBO Max. Set during Richard Nixon's presidency, the series follows two key players in the Watergate scandal: G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt, portrayed by Justin Theroux ("The Mosquito Coast") and Woody Harrelson ("True Detective"). Formerly with the FBI and CIA, respectively, Liddy and Hunt were both instrumental to Nixon's 1972 re-election and 1974 resig- nation. They worked together, car- rying out break-ins and wiretaps in service of Nixon and his office, until their close involvement in the Democratic National Commit- tee headquarters break-in at the Watergate Complex — an event dubbed a "third-rate burglary" by Nixon's press secretary — ex- posed their criminal activities and took down the very administra- tion they were trying to protect. Part of the so-called "Plumb- ers" — members of Nixon's administration who set out to in- vestigate and act on leaks of top- secret documents — Hunt and Liddy were just two of 48 people convicted (69 were indicted with crimes) for their part in the Water- gate scandal, which involved the illegal surveillance of and inves- tigations into opposing activists and politicians. Liddy and Hunt were each convicted of conspir- acy, burglary and illegal wiretap- ping. Ultimately, they served out portions of their sentences: Hunt was released after 33 months, while Liddy's sentence was com- muted by President Carter in 1977 after he'd served over four years of a 20-year sentence. The Plumbers, specifically Liddy and Hunt, are the focus of HBO's five-episode miniseries. The screenplay is based on the 2007 book, "Integrity: Good People, Bad Choices, and Life Lessons from the White House," co-authored by Nixon administra- tion official Egil Krogh and his son, Matthew Krogh. Historically a rule-follower, Egil Krogh was made the head of the Plumbers and quickly implicated himself in criminal activity before being terminated. He pleaded guilty to charges in relation to his involvement in the Watergate scandal, serving a few months of his six-year prison sentence. Other events from his time in the White House are detailed in his 1994 book, "The Day Elvis Met Nixon," including Nixon's meetings with superstar Elvis Presley, who wanted to help the government fight the war on drugs. Presumably a less empathetic and more satirical examination of the scandal than its source mate- rial, "'White House Plumbers' sheds light on the lesser-known series of events that led up to one of America's greatest political crimes" (per HBO), including the personal toll on the families of those involved. Cast as those family members are Lena Headey ("Game of Thrones") as Dorothy Hunt, Judy Greer ("Reboot") as Fran Liddy and Kiernan Shipka ("Chilling Adventures of Sabrina") as Kevan Hunt. In an official trailer for the series released in late March, all of the family members appear ex- asperated and perplexed by Liddy and Hunt's antics. Domhnall Gleeson ("The Patient") is White House Counsel John Dean, Toby Huss ("Halt and Catch Fire") is head of security for Nixon's re-election campaign, James McCord, Ike Barinholtz ("History of the World: Part II") is re-election director Jeb Magruder, Kathleen Turner ("The Komin- sky Method") is lobbyist Dita Beard, David Krumholtz ("Super Pumped") is Hunt's lawyer, Wil- liam O. Bittman, and F. Murray Abraham ("The White Lotus") is Judge John Sirica, who presided over the Watergate burglary trial. A trailer for "White House Plumbers" sets the tone for the series, introducing its characters as outrageous, bumbling and self-important. Harrelson as Hunt breathlessly accepts the phone invitation to work for Nixon and promises that he and his fellow committee members are "patri- ots, acting in the country's best interest," while Theroux's Liddy is a caricature of the tough-guy spy, insisting on proving himself by holding his hand over a can- dle's flame for an uncomfort- able amount of time, throwing money into a paper shredder, and committing to such an ag- gressive inconspicuous act that he makes himself a spectacle. Over all of the action in the trailer, title cards read, "No names have been changed to protect the innocent because nearly everyone was found guilty." After decades of writ- ing, film and TV projects about Watergate, "White House Plumbers" seems to take a gleefully cynical look at the scandal and what these officials thought they were doing. Political satire can be hard to nail, but when the creative minds that helped make "Veep" so bitingly hilarious are behind it, you can be certain it's worth a watch. "White House Plumb- ers" writer/creator duo Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck as well as director David Mandel, all have "Veep" credits on their resumes, sticking with HBO after the political sitcom ended in 2019. Step back in time and slide into one of the biggest political scandals in American history when "White House Plumbers," starring Theroux and Harrelson, premieres Monday, May 1, on HBO and HBO Max. Cover Story Justin Theroux and Woody Harrelson lead the cast of "White House Plumbers" Botched plots: 'White House Plumbers' re-examines Watergate Farmers Insurance 2 x 2 Letters & Numbers Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every row,every column, and every 4x4 box contains the digits 1 through 9 AND the letters A-F. Solution on page 12.

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