'A tragedy that makes you laugh': HBO's 'White House Plumbers' revisits Watergate

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HBO's new five-part miniseries, White House Plumbers, revisits the infamous Watergate burglary that brought down President Richard Nixon from the perspective of the men who orchestrated it: G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt, played by Justin Theroux and Woody Harrelson.

"I certainly never thought of it as a comedy because to me, it's such a horrific period in American history," director David Mandel told NPR's Leila Fadel. "I keep calling it a tragedy that makes you laugh."

The story is familiar, yes. The point of view, less so.

The "plumbers" — Liddy, ex-FBI, and Hunt, ex-CIA — were charged with the task of stopping leaks like the Pentagon Papers. Their goal: To get Nixon reelected.

In 1972, they attempted to break into the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate. They were caught, and the scandal ultimately led to Nixon's resignation two years later, after his administration repeatedly tried to cover up their involvement.