Shonda Rhimes’ Next Netflix Series Adds Eleven Cast Members

Netflix has made a huge casting announcement for The Residence, the next new series from super-producer Shonda Rhimes. Newly-announced cast members include Andre Braugher, Edwina Findley, Molly Griggs, Jason Lee, Ken Marino, Al Mitchell, Dan Perrault, Bronson Pinchot, Susan Kelechi Watson, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Mary Wiseman. This rounds out the world behind Uzo Aduba, who had previously been announced to head up the series, which centers on a murder that sees more than 150 people inside the White House as suspects.

Paul William Davies (Scandal, For the People) will serve as the executive producer and showrunner, with Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers executive producing. The screwball “whodunnit” was put together by Paul William Davis, drawing inspiration from Kate Anderson Brower’s book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House.  The eight-episode series stems from Paul William Davies’ multi-year overall deal with Netflix.

Here are a couple of the character descriptions, per Variety, who first reported the casting: 

Braugher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “The Good Fight”) plays White House Chief Usher. A.B. Wynter. Findley (“The Power,” “The Wire”) plays Sheila Cannon, White House Butler. Griggs (“Dr. Death,” “Servant”) plays Lilly Schumacher, President Morgan’s Social Secretary. Lee (“My Name is Earl,” “Almost Famous”) plays Tripp Morgan, President Perry Morgan’s younger brother and a bit of a screw-up. Marino (“The Other Two,” “Party Down”) plays Harry Hollinger, President Perry Morgan’s oldest friend, closest advisor, and most trusted confidante.

Mitchell (“Stranger Things,” “Ozark”) plays Rollie Bridgewater, Head Butler/Maitre d’. Perrault (“Strays,” “Players”) plays Colin Trask, Head of the Presidential Detail for the Secret Service. Pinchot (“Our Flag Means Death,” “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley”) plays Didier Gotthard, White House Executive Pastry Chef. Kelechi Watson (“This Is Us,” “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”) plays Jasmine Haney, a young and rising White House Assistant Usher. Whitlock (“Your Honor,” “The Wire”) plays Larry Dokes, Chief of Police, Metropolitan Police Department. Wiseman (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “Baskets”) plays Marvella, White House Executive Chef.

Here’s the official synopsis for the series, via Netflix’s media center:

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.