The Residence, the new screwball whodunnit from Shondaland, is set at the most famous address in America: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, aka the White House.
However, even the most eagle-eyed viewers may be surprised to learn that the new murder mystery was filmed entirely in California, thousands of miles from the US capital. Filmed over the course of 143 days at the historic Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, The Residence brought a significant economic impact to the state, employing thousands of talented cast and crew members and utilizing hundreds of local vendors.
As impressive as the series’ on-screen numbers are — spanning 132 rooms at the White House and 157 suspects — the numbers behind the scenes are even larger. More than 80 cast members, 1200 crew members, including 300 construction crew, and 5300 extras worked on the series.
The Residence Cast:
Over a dozen of these crew members were trainees spread across a variety of departments including art, camera, craft services, electric, grip, hair, makeup, props, sound and set decoration. Selected trainees learned from seasoned professionals, helping them on a path to join their prospective unions. The Residence also hired two graduates of the Netflix Production Accounting Clerk training program which seeks to expand the pool of qualified accounting crew members.
To highlight The Residence’s social and economic footprint, Netflix hosted a trio of premiere episode screenings in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Washington, D.C.
At the state capital in Sacramento, Netflix co-hosted a screening with the California Film Commission followed by a panel discussion moderated by the Commission’s Deputy Director. Other panel participants included Assemblymember Christopher Ward, Chair, Arts & Entertainment, Sports & Tourism Committee; Senator Angelique Ashby, Chair, Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee; Amy Lemisch, Netflix Studio & Production Policy; The Residence executive producer Betsy Beers; and series showrunner, writer and executive producer Paul William Davies. Guests included Governor Newsom’s staff, members of the legislature, and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
In Washington D.C., two of the series’ fictional congressional members, real-life former senator Al Franken and Eliza Coupe, moderated a discussion with Davies and series stars Uzo Aduba, Randall Park, Susan Kelechi Watson and Ken Marino at the Motion Picture Association. Invited guests included White House residence staff (in a nod to the series’ premise), members of Congress and staff, and other industry organizations and partners.
We wrapped in Los Angeles with a screening at Netflix’s Tudum Theater, where Aduba and Park appeared on a panel alongside co-executive producer and Shondaland Head of Production Sara Fischer and moderated by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. Guests included trainees who worked on The Residence, key industry organizations, nonprofits and community leaders, emerging creatives and participants from artist development programs supported by Netflix, as well as state, county and city officials.
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