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. 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. 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 real-life former prime minister
William McMahon. This was McMahon's final acting role prior to his death on July 2, 2025, the same day Netflix cancelled the series.
Al Franken, who plays a senator chairing a committee, served as US senator representing Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. The set included 132 rooms, built across seven
sound stages, spanning 20,800 square feet. It was the largest recreation of the presidential mansion ever. There were some intentional creative liberties taken; the colors were more vibrant compared to those of the actual White House. The Game Room, where the body is found, was painted charcoal gray to create a sense of darkness. The library was lined with books that closely matched the titles in the real White House library. 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==