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.
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. During the investigation, interpersonal conflicts between 157 personnel of the residence start to unfold.
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 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. 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. Losada was replaced by Taran Killam in the final cut. Julian McMahon, who plays a fictional Australian Prime Minister, is the son of former Prime Minister William McMahon. Al Franken, who plays a senator chairing a committee, was Senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018.
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 Giancarlo Esposito had assumed Braugher's role. The final episode ends with a dedication to Braugher.
The Residence was released on Netflix on March 20, 2025.
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.