The truth behind hit Netflix show The Residence... including Kevin Spacey and Megyn Kelly's unlikely connection

The Residence, Netflix's fashionable caller White House-set whodunnit, starring Uzo Aduba arsenic the quirky detective Cordelia Cupp, was erstwhile expected to beryllium a precise antithetic tv show. 

The Shondaland accumulation is based disconnected a publication by the aforesaid name, by writer and erstwhile White House analogous Kate Andersen Brower. 

Brower's publication turns 10 years aged this week, and it astir instantly got the attraction of Hollywood. 

'When the publication came retired successful 2015 it was primitively optioned by Kevin Spacey,' Brower told DailyMail.com successful a telephone interrogation Friday. 'And Megyn Kelly astatine 1 constituent was progressive and she called maine and was like, "You should truly accidental yes to this deal."' 

At the time, Spacey's House of Cards was successful its premier and it was 2 years earlier his MeToo autumn from grace. 

Brower said that screenwriter Dustin Lance Black - of Milk and Big Love fame - was hired for the project. 

'It was overmuch darker. It wasn't funny. It wasn't a acheronian drama oregon thing similar that. It wasn't a Shondaland, it was overmuch much successful the House of Cards realm,' she said. 

'And past everything blew up due to the fact that of Kevin Spacey's evident issues,' she added. 

Cut to 2018, erstwhile tv elephantine Shonda Rhimes got involved. 

'I recovered retired that she had work the publication and went to my cause and said, 'We emotion this book, this is cleanable for us, we'd emotion to enactment it for us,'' Brower said. 'But I didn't privation to get excessively excited due to the fact that you ne'er know.' 

The bid was yet released connected March 20 - surviving the writers' strike, the COVID-19 pandemic and the decease of a pb actor. 

Paul William Davies was tapped arsenic the writer and showrunner - and helium utilized a batch of Brower's root worldly successful absorbing ways. 

In the series, fictional President Perry Morgan is obsessed with taking precise blistery and precocious unit showers - thing astir intolerable with the White House's aged plumbing. 

It creates a conundrum for actor Mel Rodriguez's quality Bruce Geller, who plays a White House engineer. 

In existent life, White House Chief Usher J.B. West was tasked with 'calling successful dozens of experts successful an unending quest to fulfill President [Lyndon B.] Johnson's request for amended h2o unit successful his shower,' Brower wrote successful the book.

Rodriguez's quality successful the bid falls successful emotion with a White House maid. 

This was based connected a existent emotion communicative betwixt technologist Robert Limerick and enforcement housekeeper Christine Limerick. 

'She met him measuring his uniform, due to the fact that her occupation was to get each the uniforms made,' Brower said. 'And they got joined and the Reagans sent them a wedding acquisition and a clump of the unit came to the wedding and everyone was truthful excited that they were together.' 

'And truthful radical person met that way,' she said. 'I thought that was truly saccharine that [Davies] incorporated that.'  

Not astir arsenic nice, was a precise existent White House maneuver to support guests away.  

'Another illustration was the country connected the 3rd level that was being renovated,' Brower said. 

In the series, President Morgan and archetypal man Elliot Morgan bid that 1 of the upstairs bedrooms look similar a operation site, to forestall governmental adjutant Harry Hollinger's sister from staying determination during the Australian authorities dinner. 

'That has happened successful aggregate White Houses,' Brower said, noting that successful The Residence she writes astir it happening during the Kennedy administration. 

'And then, aboriginal on, aft the amusement came out, this usher who I've talked to a clump emiled maine and said, 'It's truthful funny, did anyone archer you that Nancy Reagan did the aforesaid thing?'' 

In the bid White House butler Sheila Cannon, played by histrion Edwina Findley, joins the State Dinner enactment contempt being astatine enactment - due to the fact that she's chummy with the erstwhile archetypal lady. 

This was besides a occupation with existent White House staff, Brower said, noting usher Chris Emery's narration with erstwhile archetypal woman Barbara Bush.

'And Barbara Bush would support calling and inquire him for assistance with her computer, she was moving connected her memoir, and she conscionable trusted him and missed him and wanted his assistance and it was similar a problem,' Brower said. 'The Clinton radical were similar you person to halt talking to Barbara Bush.' 

The execution astatine the White House occurs connected the aforesaid nighttime arsenic a authorities meal with Australia. 

The existent White House has hosted 2 authorities dinners with Australia successful caller years.  

The archetypal was for Prime Minister Scott Morrison nether President Donald Trump successful 2019 - the 2nd of lone 2 authorities dinners held successful Trump's archetypal term, owed to 1 successful 2020 for Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia being scrapped acknowledgment to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

President Joe Biden besides hosted a authorities meal with Australia - this clip for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese - successful October 2023. 

In some cases, the presidents entertained the Australians with performances by the U.S. Marine and different subject bands. 

'I emotion that it was Australia too. Because, similar the nicest people, nary 1 ever has a occupation with Australia,' Brower commented. 

But successful the series, the Morgan medication has annoyed the longtime U.S. ally, and truthful there's panic erstwhile the planned amusement bows out. 

Instead, staffers beg Australian popular prima Kylie Minogue, who was expected to beryllium a impermanent astatine the authorities dinner, to entertain the crowd. 

'I person sung "I can't get you retired of my head' 7 times," Minogue utters during a hilarious country successful the series, arsenic authorities meal guests are kept astatine the White House so Cupp tin analyse the execution of the White House's Chief Usher A.B. Wynter. 

Wynter was portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito but the archetypal casting was the late Andre Braugher, whose decease was a existent calamity during production. 

'It was a immense stroke due to the fact that they had already done a batch of the filming,' Brower said. 'And everyone loved him and the amusement is dedicated to him, the past occurrence they accidental it.' 

The Wynter quality was besides based successful information - though determination was nary execution astatine 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 

'The main usher's wide cognition is precise akin to Stephen Rochon, who was the admiral who ran the White Hosue erstwhile Obama was determination and Bush,' Brower noted. 

Rochon didn't get whacked but helium did get sacked. 

'He was hired by Bush, fired by Obama,' Brower said, suggesting the dismissal was a substance of idiosyncratic preference. 

Looking backmost connected the astir 10-year journey, Brower was impressed astatine however overmuch of her non-fiction publication ended up connected the tiny screen. 

'Once I recovered retired the code of the show, I didn't expect determination to beryllium really arsenic overmuch overlap arsenic determination was,' she told DailyMail.com. 

'He did an astonishing occupation of incorporating the broader themes of the White House and respect for the position. And the wide vibe of the residence unit successful the amusement helium wholly got,' she said.