Is The Residence Based On A True Story?

Looking for a bit of light relief after sobbing through the final episode of Adolescence? We’ve got just the ticket: Shonda Rhimes’ latest comedy-drama The Residence, a witty whodunnit set in the White House. With eight episodes and a star-studded line-up which includes a cameo from Kylie Minogue, it’s the perfect show to binge on a weekend – but is there any truth to the plot?

The Residence: Plot, Cast, Inspiration

What Is The Residence About?

The Residence is a murder mystery starring Uzo Aduba (Orange Is The New Black) as Cordelia Cupp, a detective brought in to investigate the murder of the White House’s chief usher, AB Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito), who is found dead at a state dinner. With 157 suspects lurking around the mansion, it’s Cupp’s job to find out where everyone was on the fateful night.

‘The Residence is a different take and spin on the house that we all know – it’s a peek inside a world that we don’t often get to see,’ said Aduba in an interview with Tudum, Netflix’s official companion site. ‘The show begs the question, “who runs the house?”, and the answer is not what we think it is.’

Erin Simkin/Netflix

Who Stars In The Residence?

Aduba is the show’s star attraction, portraying the eagle-eyed, eccentric protagonist. Speaking about her character, she told Shondaland: ‘She has the memory of a steel trap. So every single thing, every letter, every word, every single detail that someone brings to her, she files it away and listens to or for a contradiction.’

Alongside Aduba, a whole host of famous faces pop up in the series. Randall Park (The Office, Aquaman) stars as FBI agent Edwin Park, who is brought in to help Cupp (much to her disapproval). Giancarlo Esposito, best known for playing drug lord Gus Fring in Breaking Bad, plays AB Wynter, while Molly Griggs (Succession) stars as Lilly Schumacher, the White House social secretary.

Kylie Minogue also pops up in the series as herself, playing a dinner guest who becomes a performer after Harry Styles cancels. Speaking about her appearance, the show’s creator Paul William Davies said: ‘For being Kylie, she’s a very down-to-earth, warm, accessible person who really thought it would be fun. I was like, “Anything you’re able to do or willing to do, I’ll write for you.” So I wrote more because she was game.’

The cast also includes:

• Susan Kelechi Watson as Jasmine Haney, White House assistant usher
• Jason Lee as the President’s brother, Tripp Morgan
• Edwina Findley as Sheila Cannon, a White House butler
• Julieth Restrepo as Elsyie Chayle, White House housekeeper
• Ken Marino as Harry Hollinger, the President’s chief adviser
• Bronson Pinchot as Didier Gotthard, White House executive pastry chef
• Brett Tucker as David Rylance, Australian foreign minister
• Mel Rodriguez as Bruce Geller, the White House engineer

Is The Residence Based On A True Story?

As far as we know, no murders have taken place at the White House – although there was a close call. In 1859, Congressman Daniel E. Sickles shot and killed US District Attorney Philip Barton Key in broad daylight in Lafayette Square, just moments away from the building, after learning that Key was having an affair with his wife. Ten people are also known to have died of natural causes within the walls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, including two presidents: William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor. 

But that’s not to say there’s no truth to The Residence. The series is inspired by a non-fiction book, The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House, by American journalist Kate Andersen Brower, which paints a picture of life inside the presidential home through the voices of the staff. Published in 2015, it combines archival research with anecdotes from the cooks, florists, doormen and butlers who have worked closely with US presidents and their families over the years. 

Jessics Brooks/Netflix

‘The idea came to me in 2013 because Michelle Obama had this lunch for the female reporters who covered her, the East Wing reporters,’ Brower told Bethesda Magazine in 2021. ‘There were about a dozen of us, and this butler came in and he was serving us this really elegant meal. Michelle Obama was on a first-name basis with him, and they had this rapport like he was almost part of their family.’

Many of the characters in The Residence are inspired by real-life White House workers. However, while Brower’s book contains moving stories (including the relationship between a housekeeper and an engineer, who fell in love while serving President Reagan), The Residence surrounds a fictional murder mystery.

How To Watch The Residence

All eight episodes of The Residence are available to stream now on Netflix.