Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1492834
Justin Theroux, left, and Woody Harrelson. P H OT O : H B O 40 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E moment: 'Can we push this for comedy? Do we get more impact in this moment if we pull back off of that instinct and let it play for drama?'" Fefferman said. "What we discovered, which is not unusual, was that if you let it play straight, it ends up having more impact — and is also more humorous." In general, then, material that was high- ly comedic fell by the wayside for material that was more dramatic. "The comedy was slowly milked out of it," Rasch said. "The broader stuff came out, although there are still a few pieces like that. But the series became more consistent once we did that because some episodes didn't have a lot of broad comedy. The show evened-out as the cuts went down." Added Cooper: "Our natural instincts were to lean in toward the comedy, and then slowly we were like, 'Wait, the comedy is better if there's more drama to it.'" In fact, Episode 1, edited by Nygard and Fefferman, unfolds like a family drama. The audience is invited into the private lives of Hunt and Liddy. We see their struggles, their hang-ups, their disappointments — all the things that made them ideal candidates to later commit crimes on behalf of Nixon. In the case of former CIA officer Hunt, Nygard said, "He was down on his luck and looking for a job, and somebody throws him a bone: 'Hey, we need somebody to do something a little shady.'" Nygard added: "He's hungry to get back into the political world where there's some intrigue and power and excitement." "There was a mix of tensions that were pulling at these guys from within their work and home lives that resulted in them making poor decisions that would snowball into this notorious event in American his- tory," said Fefferman, who said the series then shifts into a "bromance" between Hunt and the equally desperate Liddy, a former FBI agent. "It was both a budding bromance and a rivalry at the same time," Fefferman said. "They both knew their careers and personal destinies were tied to one another, for better and worse, yet they were still jockeying for position while in pursuit of the same goal." Added Cooper: "These characters are very patriotic, but you know they're flawed, and as the show progresses, it gets darker and darker in tone." The chaos culminates in Episode 3, edited by Rasch with additional editing by Fefferman, which depicts not one but multiple attempted Watergate break-ins before the burglars overseen by Hunt and Liddy are successful. "After doing a lot of research, they found it was four attempts