‘White House Plumbers’: ‘Veep’ creatives return with Watergate satire

David Buchanan
·3 min read
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One of the biggest puzzle pieces of the spring television season recently fit into place with the announcement that the HBO limited series “White House Plumbers” will debut on Monday, May 1. From three of the comedic minds behind the Emmy-winning “Veep” — David Mandel, Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck — this five-part political thriller and satire explores the events of the Watergate break-in from vantage point of two of its masterminds: E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux).

In the full trailer, Howard’s wife Dorothy, played by Lena Headey, declares the scheme to re-elect President Richard Nixon by bugging their opponents at the Democratic National Committee, “The stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” The series begins with the White House employing Hunt and Liddy to investigate the leak of the Pentagon Papers and zeroes in on their subsequent, haphazard schemes to break into the DNC offices; the gang is repeatedly thwarted by the wrong tools and double-sided deadbolts. Watch the full trailer above.

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SEE Emmys history favors nominations for both of the ‘White House Plumbers’ leading men

In addition to Harrelson, Theroux, and Headey, the rich ensemble cast is filled out by Judy Greer as Gordon’s wife Fran, Domhnall Gleeson as whistleblower John Dean, Kieran Shipka as Hunt’s daughter Kevan, F. Murray Abraham as Judge John Sirica, who presided over the trial of the burglars, Kathleen Turner as Dita Beard, a Washington lobbyist caught up in the Watergate morass, amongst others.

“White House Plumbers” feels like a natural series for the re-teaming of a trio behind the later seasons of “Veep.” Mandel took over the reigns of the acclaimed HBO series for its fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons, earning Emmy eight nominations as writer, director, and executive producer, and taking home two when it won Comedy Series in 2016 and 2017. Gregory and Huyck both took home those prizes, too, and netted a writing nomination as a duo for the standout fifth season episode, “Mother,” in which the death of President Selina Meyer’s mom translates to a bump in the candidate’s poll numbers.

In addition to these “Veep” alums, the creative team also includes as executive producers five-time Emmy-winner Frank Rich (“Succession,” “Veep”), Emmy-winner David Bernad (“The White Lotus”) and Emmy-winner Gregg Fienberg (“Big Little Lies”), stars Harrelson and Theroux, plus a trio from co-producer wiip:  Paul Lee, Mark Roybal and Nne Ebong.

Why the title “White House Plumbers”? As Hunt explains at the very end of the trailer, “We fix leaks.”

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