The Residence (TV series)
The Residence is an American mystery comedy drama television series created by Paul William Davies for Netflix. Inspired by The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower, the series revolves around a fictional murder scandal involving the staff of the White House. Produced by Shondaland, the series premiered on March 20, 2025.
Premise
Set "upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs" in the White House, Cordelia Cupp, an eccentric detective, arrives on the premises in order to solve a murder that occurred during a state dinner for the Australian prime minister. During the investigation, interpersonal conflicts among the personnel of the residence begin to unfold.Cast
Main
- Uzo Aduba as Cordelia Cupp, a consultant with the Metropolitan Police Department, and an avid birder
- Giancarlo Esposito as A. B. Wynter, the White House Chief Usher
- Molly Griggs as Lilly Schumacher, the President's social secretary
- Ken Marino as Harry Hollinger, the President's chief adviser
- Randall Park as Edwin Park, an FBI Special Agent
- Susan Kelechi Watson as Jasmine Haney, a White House Assistant Usher
- Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Larry Dokes, the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia|Chief of Police at the MPD]
- Edwina Findley as Sheila Cannon, a White House Butler
- Jason Lee as Tripp Morgan, the President's brother
- Al Mitchell as Rollie Bridgewater, the White House's Head Butler
- Dan Perrault as Colin Trask, Head of the Presidential Detail for the Secret Service
- Bronson Pinchot as Didier Gotthard, the White House executive pastry chef
- Julieth Restrepo as Elsyie Chayle, Housekeeper.
- Mel Rodriguez as Bruce Geller, Engineer
- Mary Wiseman as Marvella, the White House Executive Chef
Recurring
- Jane Curtin as Nan Cox, the eccentric mother-in-law of the President of the United States
- Eliza Coupe as Margery Bay Bix, Senator from Colorado
- Izzy Diaz as Eddie Gomez, Carpenter
- Paul Fitzgerald as Perry Morgan, the President of [the United States]
- Barrett Foa as Elliot Morgan, the First Gentleman
- Al Franken as Aaron Filkins, Senator from Washington
- Andrew Friedman as Irv Samuelson, the director of National Park Police
- Spencer Garrett as Wally Glick, the director of the FBI
- Timothy Hornor as Patrick Doumbe, medical devices sales manager. He was granted immunity for testifying before Congress.
- Juliette Jeffers as Angie Huggins, Painter. She and A. B. Wynter played backgammon.
- Julian McMahon as Stephen Roos, the Prime Minister of Australia
- Kylie Minogue as a fictionalized version of herself
- Sumalee Montano as Dana Hammond, White House Chief of Staff
- Brett Tucker as David Rylance, the Foreign Minister of Australia
- Matt Oberg as Nick Simms, the White House Chief Calligrapher
- Taran Killam as St. Pierre, energy medium
- Alexandra Siegel as Valentina Motta, Washington socialite. Party crasher.
- Ryan Farrell as Lorenzo Motta, Washington socialite. Party crasher.
- James Babson as Daryl Armogeda, Operations Supervisor.
- Paul Witten as Jeffrey Hewes, Florist
- Roslyn Gentle as Rachel Middlekauff, Media Tycoon
- Chris Grace as Duane Ladage, Electrician.
- Nathan Lovejoy as Alden Tamridge, the Australian Ambassador to the United States
- Rebecca Field as Emily Mackil, White House Gardener.
- Sonya Leslie as Christy Vail, Head of Housekeeping.
- Jodi Bianca Wise as Melody Roos, the wife of the Prime Minister of Australia. She is allergic to bottlebrush flower.
- Aubrey Wakeling as Walpole Bing, Australian Industrialist.
- Will Dixon as Peter Paris, the Secretary of State.
- J. R. Yenque as Chuy Ornelas, Valet.
- Soledad Campos as Sylvia Banks, Storeroom employee
- J. D. Hall as George McCutcheon, Doorman. He is the great-nephew of George McCutcheon, butler under Harry Truman.
- Stan Sellers as "Little George" McCutcheon, Houseman
- Michael Anthony Spady as "Big George" McCutcheon, Plumber. He is deaf.
- Devika Parikh as Rosalind Chace, White House Curator.
- Catherine Carlen as Kim Abkin, Former First Lady
- Keiko Agena as Liz Hollenbeck, Washington Post reporter
- Jeremiah Felder as Vusi Nhlapho, 12-year old precocious student.
- Ben Prendergast as Hugh Jackman
Production
Development
On July 20, 2018, Netflix announced The Residence as a part of a deal between the streamer and Shondaland, with both of them acquiring the rights to adapt the non-fiction book, The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House, written by Kate Andersen Brower. On March 7, 2022, it was unveiled that The Residence would consist of eight one-hour episodes with Paul William Davies, writer of Scandal and creator of For the People, serving as the executive producer and showrunner of the series as a part of his overall deal with Netflix. Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers of Shondaland would also join Davies as executive producers. On February 27, 2023, Liza Johnson was announced as the director for the first four episodes. On July 2, 2025, Netflix canceled the series after one season.Casting
On February 1, 2023, Uzo Aduba was announced as the lead character of the series. More cast was revealed on February 27, 2023, with Andre Braugher, Susan Kelechi Watson, Ken Marino, Jason Lee, Bronson Pinchot, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Edwina Findley, Molly Griggs, Al Mitchell, Dan Perrault and Mary Wiseman joining Aduba in supporting roles. On March 7, 2023, Randall Park and Spencer Garrett were revealed to have joined the cast in a main and a recurring role respectively. The next day, four more cast members were announced, consisting of E.L. Losada, Matt Oberg, Ryan Farrell and Alexandra Siegel; Losada was replaced by Taran Killam in the final cut. On March 30, 2023, Barrett Foa joined the main cast in a recurring capacity. Further cast was announced on April 14, 2023, including Kylie Minogue playing herself, Jane Curtin, James Babson, Eliza Coupe, Izzy Diaz, Paul Fitzgerald, Roslyn Gentle, Chris Grace, Juliette Jeffers, Sumalee Montano, Brett Tucker, Nathan Lovejoy, Julieth Restrepo, Mel Rodriguez, and Rebecca Field. Julian McMahon, who plays a fictional Australian Prime Minister, was the son of former Prime Minister William McMahon. This was also McMahon's final acting role prior to his death on July 2, 2025. Al Franken, who plays a senator chairing a committee, was a senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018.Filming
On July 18, 2022, it was revealed that the series received tax credits from California Film Office worth US$13.95 million. Production of the series was suspended by the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes after four of the eight ordered episodes were filmed. The series was expected to resume production on January 2, 2024. Andre Braugher died on December 11, 2023. In February 2024, it was announced that production had resumed and that Braugher's role had been recast to Giancarlo Esposito. The final episode ends with a dedication to Braugher.Release
The Residence was released on Netflix on March 20, 2025.Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 82% approval rating with an average rating of 6.7/10, based on 39 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The Residence situates itself in the White House for a lighthearted murder mystery that won't tax the brain, but Uzo Aduba's eccentric sleuth brings a welcome level of sophistication to proceedings." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 66 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating favorable reviews.Accolades
| Award | Year | Category | Recipient | Result | |
| Visual Effects Society Awards | 24th [Visual Effects Society Awards|2026] | Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode | Seth Hill, Tesa Kubicek, John Nelson, Gabriel Vargas | ||
| Visual Effects Society Awards | 2026 | Outstanding Environment in an Episodic, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time Project | Gabriel Vargas, Eric Schoellnast, Andrew Wilkins, Omer Gurkan | ||
| Visual Effects Society Awards | 2026 | Outstanding Compositing and Lighting in an Episode | Spencer Hecox, Gunnar Heiss, Alexander Greenberg, Eric Schoellnast |