Ding-dong! Who’s there? A new Shondaland show! After delivering smash hits like Bridgerton and Inventing Anna and then expanding the Bridgerverse with the upcoming Queen Charlotte series, Shondaland is returning to some familiar White House territory with The Residence, the next highly anticipated scripted miniseries from executive producers Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers. The comedic murder mystery, written by Paul William Davis, who will also serve as executive producer and showrunner, has some new announcements, so we’ve gathered everything we know about the show — including the stellar ensemble cast — to make sure you’re up to date on all the news.
THE PLOT
The log line says it best: 132 rooms. 157 suspects. One dead body. One wildly eccentric detective. One disastrous state dinner. The Residence is a screwball whodunit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion.
Kate Andersen Brower’s book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House serves as the source material for the eight one-hour episodes. The 2015 New York Times instant bestseller gave an intimate account of the White House service staff from the Kennedys to the Obamas, but The Residence will take her meticulously researched story and, through a fictionalized recrafting, turn it upside down to give audiences the murder mystery they’ve been waiting for.
Davies, for his part, has been part of Shondaland since he began as executive story editor on Scandal in 2014. From there, he was elevated to producer on the award-winning show and then wrote and created Shondaland’s For the People, which ran for two seasons on ABC.
THE CAST
Uzo Aduba
Aduba plays Cordelia Cupp, that wildly eccentric consulting detective for Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department. An astute observer of human behavior, Cupp has a distinctive — and to some, unsettling — conversational style. The Emmy Award-winning Aduba shot to stardom for her role on the groundbreaking Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, and she’s also set to star in the streamer’s limited series about the opioid crisis, Painkiller.
Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Whitlock appears as Metropolitan Police Department Chief Larry Dokes. Whitlock broke out as Senator Clay Davis on HBO’s The Wire and has traversed film and TV roles for the last 40 years. Most recently, he co-starred alongside Bryan Cranston in the Showtime original Your Honor.
Andre Braugher
Braugher is most widely known as the stoic yet firm (and unintentionally hilarious) police Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. More recently, he was part of the feature film She Said, and he joined The Good Fight for its final season as attorney Ri’Chard Lane. In The Residence, Braugher will play White House Chief Usher A.B. Wynter.
Ken Marino
Another Brooklyn Nine-Nine alum, Marino plays Harry Hollinger, President Perry Morgan’s oldest friend, closest adviser, and most trusted confidant. Marino also co-starred in Party Down and The Other Two.
Randall Park
You've no doubt familiarized yourself with Park from his starring roles on TV (Fresh Off the Boat) and film (Marvel's Ant-Man franchise). In The Residence, Park will play Edwin Park, a federal agent who, despite being skeptical of her investigative style, is assigned to work alongside Cordelia on the night of the State Dinner.
Jason Lee
As the president’s screw-up younger brother, Tripp Morgan, Lee will bring his eccentric brand of humor to The Residence. Lee is best known for the early-aughts favorite My Name Is Earl, but he also boasts plenty of feature credits including Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky, and all of Kevin Smith’s films.
Edwina Findley
Also best known for The Wire, Findley plays White House Butler Sheila Cannon. A native of Washington, D.C., Findley was also a part of the critically acclaimed Treme.
Molly Griggs
Her star meter has recently risen with strong roles in the limited series Dr. Death and Apple TV+’s Servant, and now Griggs will portray Lilly Schumacher, President Morgan’s social secretary.
Susan Kelechi Watson
We’re still reeling from Watson’s emotional portrayal of Beth Pearson on six seasons of the hit NBC drama This Is Us (and before that, her role in the Third Watch ensemble). But thankfully, Watson is back in The Residence as Jasmine Haney, a young and rising White House assistant usher.
Mary Wiseman
Best known as Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly on Star Trek: Discovery, Wiseman plays Marvella, the White House executive chef.
Bronson Pinchot
Pinchot will appear as Didier Gotthard, the White House executive pastry chef. Pinchot’s debut film role was as the best friend in Risky Business, and the trained theater actor has had a prolific TV and film career over the last 40 years, including as Serge in the Beverly Hills Cop films.
Al Mitchell
Mitchell plays White House Head Butler/Maître d’ Rollie Bridgewater, and he’s previously traversed the TV world with guest spots on Ozark and Stranger Things, and in the film Just Mercy.
Stephen Garrett
What would any good murder mystery be without some professional conflict? Enter Wally Glick, played by Garrett, the Director of the FBI who, with his hard-nose style, is none to pleased that Cordelia is running this high-profile murder investigation.
Dan Perreault
In his first television role, Perreault will portray Colin Trask, the head of the presidential detail for the Secret Service.
That’s about all we can say for now — indeed, much mystery surrounds what is sure to be another scandalous Shondaland series. But watch this space for more news and announcements about The Residence, coming soon to Netflix!
Valentina Valentini is a London-based entertainment, travel, and food writer and is also a senior contributor to Shondaland. Elsewhere, she has written for Vanity Fair, Vulture, Variety, Thrillist, Heated, and The Washington Post. Her personal essays can be read in the Los Angeles Times and Longreads, and her tangents and general complaints can be seen on Instagram at @ByValentinaV.
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