Shondaland series The Residence taps Breaking Bad vet for recast

Netflix has officially announced their next Shondaland project! Coming up next is The Residence, a murder-mystery drama based on the book, The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower.

Shonda Rhimes will serve as an executive producer alongside her long-time collaborator Betsy Beers. Another frequent Shondaland producer, Paul William Davies, will be the showrunner/executive producer. Davies has an overall deal with Netflix, and so does Shondaland. The Residence is being produced as part of those pre-existing deals.

Before this series, Davies worked as a writer-producer on ABC’s Scandal and also created, and executive produced the legal drama For the People, which starred Bridgerton actor Regé-Jean Page.

What is The Residence about?

Before you go making comparisons to Scandal, find out exactly what The Residence is about. While it is set at the White House, tonally, it’s much different from the series that starred Kerry Washington as the formidable Olivia Pope.

Read the synopsis for The Residence, courtesy of Deadline:

"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. Viewers can expect to see the following key elements: 132 rooms. 157 suspects. One dead body. One wildly eccentric detective. One disastrous State Dinner."

The Residence cast

Orange is the New Black breakout Uzo Aduba is returning to Netflix! The talented, three-time Emmy-winning actress will star in The Residence, reports Deadline. Her character, Cordelia Cupp, is described as a consulting detective “with a distinctive and – to some, unsettling – conversational style.”

The article also reveals that Liza Johnson (The Last of Us) will direct the first four episodes of the eight-episode series. Aduba’s character is the lead of the show.

Later, 11 new actors joined the cast such as Susan Kelechi Watson, Ken Marino, Jason Lee, Bronson Pinchot, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Edwina Findley, Molly Griggs, Al Mitchell, Dan Perrault, and Mary Wiseman. Blockbuster‘s Randall Park joined the cast as a series regular and Public Enemies star Spencer Garrett as a recurring cast member.

On April 14, Deadline revealed that a few more people had joined the cast, including singer Kylie Minogue who will play herself in the series, Eliza Coupe from Happy Endings and Pivoting fame, and Saturday Night Live alum Jane Curtin! Curtin will play the First Mother-In-Law and Eliza Coupe plays Senator Margery Bay Bix, a junior Senator from Colorado.

Sadly, star Andre Braugher passed away this past December and thus left a big hole to fill in the cast. TVLine has reported that Breaking Bad veteran Giancarlo Esposito will step in and take over Braugher's role. Esposito previously worked with Netflix on the limited series Kaleidoscope. Esposito will now play the role of White House Chief Usher A.B. Wynter.

"I couldn’t be prouder and more honored to be stepping into Shondaland’s The Residence for someone that I loved and respected and cherished in Andre Braugher. To be afforded the opportunity to create in his honor with this incredible team extends the depth and breadth of his legacy through all of us who loved him so dearly."

- Statement from Giancarlo Esposito

Interestingly, Esposito previously inherited a role from Braugher in 1998 when he joined Homicide: Life on the Street after Braugher exited the show. The two also worked together in the series' eventual wrap-up movie.

Here’s the updated cast list:

• Uzo Aduba as Cordelia Cupp
• Andre Braugher as A.B. Wynter
• Susan Kelechi Watson as Jasmine Haney
• Ken Marino as Harry Hollinger
• Jason Lee as  Tripp Morgan
• Bronson Pinchot as Didier Gotthard
• Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Larry Dokes
• Edwina Findley as Sheila Cannon
• Molly Griggs as Lilly Schumacher
• Al Mitchell as Rollie Bridgewater
• Dan Perrault as Colin Trask
• Mary Wiseman as Marvella
• Randall Park as FBI Special Agent Edwin Park
• Spencer Garrett as FBI Director Wally Glick
• Kylie Minogue as herself
• Jane Curtin as Nan Cox
• James Babson as Daryl Armogeda
• Eliza Coupe as Senator Margery Bay Bix
• Izzy Diaz as Eddie Gomez
• Paul Fitzgerald as President Perry Morgan
• Roslyn Gentle as Rachel Middlekauff
• Chris Grace as Duane Ladage
• Juliette Jeffers as Angie Huggins
• Sumalee Montano as Dana Hammond
• Nathan Lovejoy as Alden Tamridge
• E. L. Losada as St. Pierre
• Julieth Restrepo as Elsyie Chayle
• Mel Rodriguez as Bruce Geller
• Brett Tucker as David Rylance
• Rebecca Field as Emily Mackil

The Residence was believed to be on track for a 2024 release date, but given the recasting it's possible the show might be pushed back until 2025. Stay tuned to Netflix Life for more updates on The Residence and other Shondaland shows on Netflix.