Uzo Aduba is set to star in the upcoming Shondaland series “The Residence” at Netflix, Variety has learned.
The series was originally picked up at the streaming service in March 2022. It is described as a comedic murder mystery set at The White House. It is inspired by Kate Andersen Brower’s book “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House.”
The official logline states, “132 rooms. 157 suspects. One dead body. One wildly eccentric detective. One disastrous State Dinner. ‘The Residence’ is 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.”
Aduba will star as Cordelia Cupp, a consulting detective for the Metropolitan Police Department. Cupp is further described as “an astute observer of human behavior, with a distinctive and – to some, unsettling – conversational style.”
In addition, Liza Johnson has also signed on to direct the first four episodes of the series. Johnson recently directed an episode of the hit HBO series “The Last of Us,” while her other credits include “Sex Lives of College Girls,” “Dead to Me,” and “Barry.”
Aduba’s casting keeps her Netflix, as she is also set to star in the opioid crisis limited series “Painkiller.” She previously starred in the groundbreaking series “Orange Is the New Black” throughout its seven-season run. Her work on the show earned her two Emmy Awards — one for best guest actress in a comedy and one for best supporting actress in a drama, after “Orange Is the New Black” was moved to the drama category. She is one of only two actors to win Emmys in comedy and drama for the same role. She won her third Emmy in 2020 for the limited series “Mrs. America,” in which she played U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. She also recently lent her voice to the Disney-Pixar animated film “Lightyear.”
She is repped by UTA, Entertainment 360, and Schreck Rose.
Paul William Davies is the showrunner and executive producer on “The Residence.” Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers executive produce on behalf of Shondaland via the company’s Netflix overall deal. Davies is also under an overall deal at Netflix. The show marks the latest collaboration between Davies and Rhimes. He previously created the ABC legal drama “For the People,” which was produced by Shondaland. He was also a writer on the hit ABC series “Scandal,” which Rhimes created.