David Farnor | On 18, Mar 2023

Shonda Rhimes is returning to the White House for new Netflix series The Residence, and Uzo Aduba will officially lead the cast.

132 rooms. 157 suspects. One dead body. One wildly eccentric detective. One disastrous State Dinner. The murder-mystery is a screwball whodunnit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion. It uses Kate Andersen Brower’s book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House as a jumping-off point, but crafts a plot all of its own.

The eight-episode series is exec-produced by Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers and Paul William Davies, as part of their overall deal with Netflix, with Davies serving as showrunner.

In front of the camera will be Orange Is the New Black’s Emmy-winner Aduba as Cordelia Cupp, a Metropolitan Police detective. She is a sharp observer and an eccentric character with a distinct conversational style that some may consider deeply unsettling.

She’s joined by Andre Braugher (The Good Fight) as A.B. Wynter, White House chief usher, Edwina Findley (The Wire) as Sheila Cannon, White House butler, Molly Griggs (Dr. Death) as Lilly Schumacher, President Morgan’s social secretary, Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl ) as Tripp Morgan, President Morgan’s younger brother, Ken Marino (Party Down) as Harry Hollinger, President Morgan’s oldest friend, Al Mitchell (Stranger Things) as Rollie Bridgewater, head butler/maître d’, Dan Perrault (Strays) as Colin Trask, head of the presidential detail for the Secret Service, Bronson Pinchot (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley) as Didier Gotthard, White House executive pastry chef, Susan Kelechi Watson (This Is Us) as Jasmine Haney, a young and rising White House assistant usher, Isiah Whitlock Jr (Your Honor) as Larry Dokes, chief of police, Mary Wiseman (Star Trek: Discovery) as Marvella, White House executive chef, Randall Park (Always Be My Maybe) as Edwin Park, FBI Special Agent, and Spencer Garrett (Bombshell) as Wally Gick, Director of the FBI.

 

The Residence: Netflix orders murder-mystery from Shondaland

8th March 2022

Shondaland and Netflix are teaming up again, with the streamer giving a full series order to The Residence.

The murder-mystery drama uses Kate Andersen Brower’s book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House as a jumping-off point. 132 rooms. 157 suspects. One dead body. One wildly eccentric detective. One disastrous State Dinner. The Residence is a screwball whodunnit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion.

The eight-episode series is exec-produced by Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers and Paul William Davies, as part of their overall deal with Netflix, with Davies serving as showrunner. Inspired by Brower’s book, Davies has created an all new story that brings to life a murder-mystery unlike any other. Davies was the creator of For the People and a writer on Scandal.

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