What We Know About Andre Braugher's Final Project
The entertainment world was recently dealt a heartbreaking blow with beloved actor Andre Braugher passing away unexpectedly at the age of 61. Braugher was best known for his roles on shows like "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." Before the actor's passing, he had been working on a new TV show for Netflix called "The Residence." It will now serve as the actor's final project. Much remains in flux, but we know quite a bit about the show already.
The eight-episode series hails from Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers, with Paul William Davies on board as the writer and showrunner. It is based on Kate Andersen Brower's book "The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House," but interestingly, it's said that the show will only use the book as a jumping-off point, so it won't be an outright adaptation. According to a February report from Deadline, it is described as "a screwball whodunnit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and back stairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world's most famous mansion." The brief logline reads as follows:
"132 rooms. 157 suspects. One dead body. One wildly eccentric detective. One disastrous State Dinner."
Liza Johnson ("The Last of Us," "The Diplomat") is on board to direct the first four episodes of the show. Braugher had been cast as White House Chief Usher. A.B. Wynter, but he is just one part of an impressive ensemble cast. The series also stars Susan Kelechi Watson ("This is Us"), Ken Marino ("Party Down"), Jason Lee ("My Name Is Earl"), Bronson Pinchot ("Our Flag Means Death"), Isiah Whitlock Jr. ("Cocaine Bear"), Edwina Findley ("The Power"), Molly Griggs ("Dr. Death"), Al Mitchell ("Stranger Things"), Dan Perrault ("American Vandall"), and Mary Wiseman ("Star Trek: Discovery").
How will The Residence proceed?
The big question is how the series will proceed in light of recent events. According to a recent report from Deadline, four episodes of "The Residence" had been filmed before the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes shut down Hollywood for much of the year. Filming had been scheduled to resume in January. It's currently unclear if Netflix will stick to that production schedule, or if they will hit the pause button out of respect for Braugher, the cast, and crew.
There is no word on how the production will proceed without Braugher. There are no good options, as it would either involve writing off his character, replacing him with a new actor, or scrapping the show entirely midway through. It may depend on how integral the character of A.B. Wynter is to the proceedings. For what it's worth, Wynter is described as one of the main characters in the show, so this will likely be a big challenge in either scenario.
The rest of the characters include Watson as Jasmine Haney, a young and rising White House Assistant Usher; Lee as Tripp Morgan, the president's younger brother; Marino as Harry Hollinger, the president's oldest friend; Findley as Sheila Cannon, White House Butler; Griggs as Lilly Schumacher, the president's Social Secretary; Mitchell as Rollie Bridgewater, the Maitre d'; Perrault as Colin Trask, Head of the Presidential Detail for the Secret Service; Pinchot as Didier Gotthard, White House Executive Pastry Chef; Whitlock Jr. as Chief of Police Larry Dokes; and Wiseman as Marvella, White House Executive Chef.
"The Residence" does not currently have a release date.