THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Shonda Rhimes Sets White House Murder-Mystery ‘The Residence’ at Netflix
The series, from Shondaland alum Paul William Davies (‘Scandal,’ ‘For the People’), is described as a “screwball whodunnit” that uses Kate Anderson Brower’s book as a jumping off point.
As Inventing Anna continues to rank in Netflix’s top 10, Shondaland has set another scripted original series at the streaming giant.
Shonda Rhimes and her longtime Shondaland partner Betsy Beers will executive produce The Residence, a mystery drama that has been ordered straight to series. The drama will use Kate Anderson Brower’s book, The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House, as a jumping off point to tell a new murder-mystery story.
The eight-episode drama is from showrunner and exec producer Paul William Davies, a Shondaland veteran whose credits include ABC’s Scandal and creating For the People (the latter of which starred Bridgerton favorite Regé-Jean Page).Here’s the official logline for The Residence, per Netflix: “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.”
The Residence will be produced in-house at Netflix via Shondaland’s overall deal as well as the multiple-year pact Davies has with the streamer. Davies, who has a doctorate in history from UC Berkeley, previously clerked for a federal judge in L.A. before practicing law for more than a decade.
The Residence continues Rhimes’ love of exploring the political world following her love of Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing and her ABC political soap Scandal, which in addition to Grey’s Anatomy, helped to rocket the prolific producer to a global brand. Shondaland’s Netflix roster includes Bridgerton and the Rhimes-penned prequel and Inventing Anna, as well as anthology Notes on Love. Development of The Residence was first announced in July 2018 as Rhimes set her original Netflix slate. Netflix and Shondaland acquired the rights to Brower’s nonfiction book.
A premiere date for The Residence has not yet been determined.
Rhimes is repped by ICM Partners. Davies is with ICM Partners and Hansen Jacobson.