Editorial by Joe Hawk, November 5, 2025
“It just reels you in…” That’s what Connecticut filmmaker Joe Hawk, had to say about his newest mini series, “The White House is Fake” — a seven-episode political thriller centered around secrets harbored by the U.S. government.
“There’s so much in this mini series, it’s going to surprise you — plot twists you won’t even see coming,” Hawk said about the mini-series, adding that he was inspired by the likes of “Total Recall” and “Ghost” when making the series. Shot around Connecticut, Hawk, who runs local production company Hawk Studios, said the title does not center around any specific political party. Rather, the story, which is based on a 2017 book that Hawk penned, set in 1992 and follows teenager Nelson Conrad, who gets pulled into a larger conspiracy after seeing something that he shouldn’t have seen. The plot also traces back to U.S. President Dwight D. Einsenhower and his signing of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.
Hawk said he started writing the book in 2017 after being inspired by driving down I-84. Though inspired by his home state of Connecticut, the setting of the “The White House is Fake” is in Alexandria, Virginia.
This past weekend, Hawk and his crew were in Putnam shooting at the Bradley Playhouse for a scene involving a tongue-in-cheek reference to “A Few Good Men.” They also shot over the weekend in West Haven at the West Haven Police Department.
🎬 Series Summary: The White House Is Fake
Genre: Political Sci-Fi Thriller / Psychological Mystery
Format: Limited Series – 7 Episodes (~45–55 min each)
Logline
When a curious teen in 1990s Virginia uncovers evidence of a decades-old government conspiracy that claims the White House is only a decoy, he ignites a chain of events that exposes the hidden infrastructure of power — one controlled by a secret government operating beneath America’s highways.
Overview
The White House Is Fake follows Nelson Conrad, a 17-year-old student whose school project leads him to a shocking discovery — blueprints linking the Federal-Aid Highway Act to a network of underground tunnels built for a “shadow president.” His pursuit of truth collides with the ruthless James Hutchinson, an agent serving an unseen commander within the Department of Transportation — the true seat of American control.
Each episode pulls Nelson deeper into a labyrinth of cover-ups, false deaths, and technological manipulation, blurring the line between physical reality and simulation. By the time he realizes the scope of the deception, Nelson himself becomes both the hunter and the experiment.