BY: DM
Published 7 hours ago
Pack it up — the drama is done. Netflix just hit the brakes on “The Residence” after only one season, and fans are already sounding off. The Shondaland-backed murder mystery had all the right ingredients: an elite D.C. setting, high-stakes politics, and a whole lot of secrets behind closed doors. But even powerhouse names couldn’t save it from getting the axe.
“The Residence,” loosely inspired by Kate Andersen Brower’s nonfiction book “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House,” gave us an upstairs-downstairs-style whodunit set in the East Wing. The series followed Cordelia Cupp, an eccentric detective, played by Uzo Aduba, as she tried to piece together a crime that rocked the White House. Add in 157 suspects, a dinner party gone wrong, and a lot of ego, and the drama basically wrote itself.
Despite initial hype, the series has been axed — leaving many to wonder why. Here is everything we know about the cancellation of “The Residence.”
“The Residence” did not perform well.
“The Residence” dropped on Netflix earlier this year, with fans excited to see Aduba in another leading role. But according to sources close to the streamer, viewership just didn’t match expectations. While “The Residence” debuted to decent numbers, it didn’t trend for long, and Netflix’s algorithm-driven model doesn’t play favorites, no matter how juicy the storyline.
According to Deadline, “The Residence” was overshadowed by the success of “Adolescence,” which premiered a week later. And while the show had a lot of initial buzz, it quickly fell off the streamer’s Top 10 list. There’s also chatter about the cost of producing the series. “The Residence” had a star-studded cast led by one of the breakout stars from Netflix. Deadline also reports that the streaming service built a massive set for the Aduba-led drama that would essentially go to waste if the show returned for Season 2. Per the publication, the plan was to make “The Residence” an anthology series, leaving no use for the White House replica built for Season 1.
Fans are already mourning online. “The Residence was fantastic and deserves another season. That makes me sad,” one person commented. While another wrote, “The Residence had potential like ‘Knives Out.’ We need more whodunnit TV shows, and that was a masterpiece.”
Netflix also cancelled “Pulse.”
“Pulse” has also come to an end. The steamy hospital drama won’t be scrubbing back in for a second season. “Pulse” focused on trauma center life in Miami, led by Willa Fitzgerald, Colin Woodell, Justina Machado, and Jessie T. Usher. Even with its #MeToo storyline and hurricane-level drama, it struggled to keep eyes on screen.
Netflix had big hopes — the show charted in its global Top 10 for four weeks, clocking about 162 million hours streamed, but viewership dropped hard after week two, according to What’s On Netflix. It also didn’t help that “Pulse” hit the scene six months after a wave of new hospital shows. HBO Max’s “The Pitt” was already killing it, and “Pulse” never managed to break free from its shadow.
Did you watch “The Residence?” Should Netflix have given it more time to grow?
