Caption/Description: The Residence. (L to R) Uzo Aduba as Cordelia Cupp, Randall Park as Edwin Park in episode 101 of The Residence. Cr. Erin Simkin/Netflix © 2024
Shondaland’s third major Netflix Original title is The Residence, which Netflix has announced will be released in March 2025. We’re keeping track of everything you need to know about The Residence, including the plot, cast, first look, and Netflix release date.
Netflix announced it acquired the Kate Anderson Brower book rights in July 2018. It announced it was moving forward with the series adaptation in March 2022.
Attorney-turned-screenwriter Paul William Davies will serve as writer and showrunner for the series. His credits include such projects as Scandal, Betrayal, and For the People. The Residence will be part of Davies’ new overall deal with Netflix, where Shondaland is also under an exclusive deal that was re-upped after initially being struck in 2018.
Davies had the following to say about the series:
“The Residence is honestly a lot of things. It’s funny, it’s suspenseful, it’s clever, it’s totally farcical in places, it’s genuinely romantic in others, As a murder mystery, what I think really makes it fresh and unique is Cordelia Cupp. She’s just special.”
Pictured: Paul William Davies
The Residence joins Shondaland’s series portfolio on Netflix, which includes hit period drama Bridgerton, returning for a second season this month, its Queen Charlotte spinoff, and Rhimes’ recently released limited series Inventing Anna.
Liza Johnson (The Last of Us) will direct four series episodes.
Here’s everything else we know about Netflix’s The Residence:
What’s the Netflix release date for The Residence?
Netflix has confirmed that The Residence will be released on Netflix on March 20th, 2025.
What’s the plot of The Residence?
Netflix’s The Residence will use Kate Andersen Brower’s book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House as source material to turn it upside down and deliver a murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie’s Poirot.
Per GoodReads, The Residence book “offers an intimate account of the service staff of the White House, from the Kennedys to the Obamas.”
Here’s the official Netflix synopsis of the new series:
“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.”
Who is cast in The Residence?
Cast grid for Netflix’s The Residence
The cast for The Residence has been announced in two waves thus far.
First up, in January 2023, Netflix confirmed Orange is the New Black star Uzo Aduba would be leading the cast.
Then in February 2023, we got a further 11 new cast members announced
Here’s the current list of cast members as of March 2023:
Uzo Aduba plays the role of Cordelia Cupp, a DC Detective. The actress will be familiar to fans of Orange is the New Black, where she played the role of Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren. She had the following to say about the role:
“What makes Cordelia part of the catalog of Shondaland heroines is that she’s strong, she doesn’t mince words, she’s unapologetically herself.” While other characters in The Residence may think the mystery ahead is impossible to crack, Cordelia sees a puzzle worth putting together. This case is unsolvable to everyone except Cordelia Cupp.”
The rest of the cast is as follows:
- Randall Park as Special Agent, FBI, Edwin Park.
- Andre Braugher as White House Chief Usher, A.B. Wynter
- Giancarlo Esposito as A.B. Wynter, White House chief usher.
- Al Franken as Aaron Filkins, the senior senator from Washington State.
- Andrew Friedman as Irv Samuelson, director of the National Park Police.
- Edwina Findley as White House Butler, Sheila Cannon.
- Molly Griggs as Lilly Schumacher, President Morgan’s Social Secretary.
- Susan Kelechi Watson as Jasmine Haney a young and rising White House Assistant Usher.
- Jason Lee as Tripp Morgan, Perry Morgan’s younger screw-up brother.
- Ken Marino as Harry Hollinger, President Perry Morgan’s oldest friend.
- Al Mitchell as Rollie Bridgewater, Head Butler/Maitre d’.
- Dan Perrault as Colin Trask, Head of the Presidential Detail for the Secret Service.
- Bronson Pinchot as Didier Gotthard, White House Executive Pastry Chef.
- Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Larry Dokes, Chief of Police, Metropolitan Police Department.
- Mary Wiseman as Marvella, White House Executive Chef.
- Julian McMahon as Stephen Roos, the prime minister of Australia.
- Spencer Garrett as Walley Gick, director of the FBI.
- Kylie Minogue as herself.
- Jane Curtin as Nan Cox, first mother-in-law.
- James Babson as Daryl Armogeda, operations supervisor.
- Eliza Coupe as Senator Margery Bay Bix, junior senator of Colorado.
- Izzy Diaz as Eddie Gomez, carpenter.
- Paul Fitzgerald as President Perry Morgan.
- Ros Gentle as Rachel Middlekauff, media tycoon.
- Chris Grace as Duane Ladage, electrician.
- Juliette Jeffers as Angie Huggins, White House painter.
- Sumalee Montano as Dana Hammond, chief of staff to President Morgan.
- Nathan Lovejoy as Alden Tamridge, Australian ambassador.
- Taran Killam as St. Pierre, an energy medium.
- Julieth Restrepo as Elsyie Chayle, White House housekeeper.
- Mel Rodriguez as Bruce Geller, White House engineer.
- Brett Tucker as David Rylance, Australian foreign minister.
- Rebecca Field as Emily Mackil, White House gardner.
How many episodes will be in The Residence?
Netflix has confirmed that The Residence will feature eight episodes at around 60 minutes apiece. The series is listed in multiple locations as a “mini-series,” so don’t expect a season 2.
What’s the production status of The Residence?
The bulk of filming took place in 2023, which started in January. Filming was due to end in September 2023, but production was delayed due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Filming picked back up on January 5th, 2024, and reportedly ran until April 30th, 2024. The series was being filmed in Los Angeles under the codename/working title Falcon.
What is the episode count?
There will be a total of eight episodes. Each episode will have an approximate runtime of 60 minutes.
Are you looking forward to this new adaptation? Let us know in the comments down below.
