Sean Penn and Julia Roberts are unrecognizable in the trailer for Watergate drama Gaslit

The new limited series is poised to become your next binge watch

Gaslit
(Image credit: STARZ)

The trailer for Gaslit, the new Starz limited series exploring the Watergate-adjacent life of whistleblower Martha Mitchell, has officially been released—and it’s looking even more awesome than we initially thought.

In the clip, fans will notice an almost unrecognizable Sean Penn and Julia Roberts, who star as, respectively, John Mitchell, President Richard Nixon's friend and attorney general, and Martha Mitchell, John's wife and eventual whistleblower, the first to publicly implicate Nixon in the Watergate scandal.


The new series—which is based on the first season of the Slate podcast Slow Burn, Gaslit—will premiere on April 24. 

Sean, who recently made headlines claiming that "men in American culture have become wildly feminized" and for demanding that everyone on the set of Gaslit be vaccinated against COVID-19,  has clearly undergone the most dramatic transformation for his role.

The 61-year-old actor sports a rounded belly, a nearly bald head and a pronounced chin—obviously embracing the 1970s style that echoes throughout the show.

In addition to Sean and Julia, the series stars Dan Stevens as John Dean, Betty Gilpin as Mo Dean, Shea Whigham as G. Gordon Liddy and Darby Camp as Marty Mitchell.

According to the official synopsis, the show is "a modern take on Watergate that focuses on the untold stories and forgotten characters of the scandal—from Nixon's bumbling and opportunistic subordinates to the deranged zealots aiding and abetting their crimes to the tragic whistleblowers who would eventually bring the whole rotten enterprise crashing down."

Julia Roberts attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California

(Image credit: Photo by Daniele Venturelli/WireImage via Getty)

The premise is surely an interesting one. As thoroughly dissected as the Watergate scandal has been throughout the years, very few—if any—outlets have explored Martha Mitchell’s involvement and subsequent lifestyle change connected to the affair.

In addition to his role in this new drama, Sean has recently been seen in the coming-of-age comedy-drama by Paul Thomas Anderson Licorice Pizza, in which he stars as Jack Holden.

Julia, on the other hand, is gearing up for a busy few months following a semi-hiatus of sorts since her 2018 role on the critically acclaimed mini-series Homecoming and the heartbreaking film Ben is Back. Later this year, the 54-year-old actor will appear in the romantic comedy film Ticket to Paradise alongside her long-time pal George Clooney.

Anna Rahmanan

Anna Rahmanan is a New York-based writer and editor who covers culture, entertainment, food, fashion and travel news. Anna’s words have appeared on Time Out New York, the Huffington Post, Fortune, Forbes, Us Weekly, Bon Appetit and Brooklyn Magazine, among other outlets.