The docudrama, which combines scripted scenes with expert interviews, has become an increasingly prevalent genre on streaming and cable. Fox Nation has had a few shows like this, most notably Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints. In the new docudrama The White House, we get a little bit of history about the presidential residence, but we get a lot of drama about the scandals that happened during the building’s early years.
Opening Shot: A horse and carriage goes through some dark and foggy woods. Inside the carriage is Abigail Adams (Kosha Engler) and her granddaughter Susanna (Anastasia Grama). “NOVEMBER, 1800.”
The Gist: The White House is a docudrama that combines expert interviews with scripted scenes, depicting the scandals that surrounded the presidential mansion during its early years, during the presidencies of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
As Abigail and Susanna Adams approach the newly-constructed city of Washington, DC, President John Adams (Gavin Mitchell) is shown using an outhouse on the White House grounds, surrounded by lots of construction. He’s ticked off that the construction is so far behind and that things are in such disarray as Abigail and Susanna arrive.
He is also pissed about the writings of James T. Callender (Robert Jack), who was hired by Jefferson (Mark Gillis) to write disparaging and salacious prose about Adams. It doesn’t matter that Jefferson is Adams’ vice president; they are political opposites, and Jefferson was running against Adams in the 1800 presidential election.
The reason why Susanna is with her grandparents is because, a year earlier, John Adams caught his son Charles (Victor Bitiusca) in bed with another man; not only does he feel shame about that, but he feels if that information gets out, he’ll not only lose the election but the Adams name will be in ruins. Charles ends up drinking himself to death, and Adams ends up jailing Callender and others under the brand-new Sedition Act.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The White House plays out like other docudramas, like fellow Fox Nation series Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints.
Our Take: While the experts that are interviewed for The White House give the dramatic segments some historical context, this docudrama is definitely more oriented towards its scripted content than the factual interviews. It definitely makes for a more cohesive narrative than what we usually see from shows of this type, even if the content leans more towards the scandalous and the acting can be a overwrought at times.
Yes, there is some talk of how DC was literally a swamp in those early days, how much of it was built using enslaved labor and how and when The White House got its name. But it becomes apparent that the series wants to make Adams into a screaming ball of anxieties who hates the “vipers” in politics and Jefferson into a scheming striver who will easily stab former friends like Adams in the back to get ahead.
While it’s fine to portray the founding fathers in a way that makes them into the humans they were and not the idols we’ve made them into, this series leans so hard into the scandalous parts of their lives and careers that they become more like soap opera villains than complex characters.
The half-hour episodes move briskly, though, and there’s enough historical information there for viewers to latch onto. But those viewers need to treat The White House as more of an entertainment vehicle than a thorough examination of the history of the building or its early occupants.
Performance Worth Watching: Kosha Engler brings a lot of dignity to her portrayal of Abigail Adams, who seems to be able to defuse her husband’s volcanic personality.
Sex And Skin: Yes, there is surprisingly some of both.
Parting Shot: Jefferson and Adams have a confrontation in what is to become the Oval Office, and Jefferson imagines himself sitting behind Adams’ desk.
Sleeper Star: Mark Gillis’ Jefferson is a sneering country gentleman, which is definitely a characterization we’ve never seen before. When the show shifts to his administration and his relationship with Sally Hemmings, we’re definitely interested if that persona continues.
Most Pilot-y Line: John Adams tells Abigail that if people find out about Charles, “The Adams name will be mired in shit forever.” We’re sure that’s exactly how Adams put it.
Our Call: SKIP IT. While we weren’t put off by the overly dramatic acting in the scripted part of The White House, the concentration on scandals and the cartoonish characterizations of Adams and Jefferson in the first two episodes left us cold.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
