Yes, That Is Former Real Life Senator Al Franken Playing A Fictional Senator In Netflix’s ‘The Residence’
Al Franken, what are you doing here?!
Netflix’s new murder mystery, The Residence, is a virtual who’s who whodunnit of recognizable actors and faces, including that of the former Saturday Night Live writer turned Minnesota Senator.
In the brand new Shondaland show, Franken stars as Sen. Aaron Filkins, the leader of the Senate committee looking into the death of A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito), the chief usher of The White House, and the unfolding events of that evening. Franken’s character is responsible for questioning all of The White House staff and gala attendees who were part of the investigation conducted by Detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba). In the crime comedy, Sen. Filkins is at war with Senator Margery Bay Bix (Eliza Coupe), who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth — or, better yet, a conspiracy theory she can tout to her followers — about what happened at The White House the night that A.B. Wynter’s body was discovered.
The role was almost surely a walk in the park for the funny guy who had his fair share of battles with his Republican counterparts during his nearly 10 year tenure in office. (A tenure that, it’s worth mentioning, ended with Franken resigning in disgrace after a sexual misconduct scandal.) What’s more, in a recent interview with The Hill, Franken said that he channeled his former colleagues to get into character.
“I thought of Chuck Grassley of Iowa and [former Tennessee Sen.] Lamar Alexander, who are both very avuncular, and to some extent, [South Carolina Sen.] Lindsey Graham,” Franken said.
Outside of his role in the new Netflix series, Franken has acted in shows and movies like The Manchurian Candidate, LateLine, and Clerks, both on camera and via voice acting. He also appeared on SNL throughout his tenure as a writer on the series, on and off from 1975 to 1995.
Alongside Esposito, Aduba, Coupe, and Franken is an all-star cast of actors from notable TV shows and film, including This Is Us alum Susan Kelechi Watson, Party Down and The Other Two star Ken Marino, Fresh Off the Boat‘s Randall Park, and My Name Is Earl star Jason Lee.
The Residence jumps back and forth between the past and the present, moving between the night of A.B. Wynter’s death — when The White House was hosting the Australian PM, Kylie Minogue, and Hugh Jackman (not really) — and the Senate hearings into the security concerns. While Franken’s character is more than willing to accept that Esposito’s character may have taken his own life, Sen. Bay Bix and Cupp are a little more suspicious of the situation.
The drama and mystery of the series culminate in the eighth and final episode where questions about A.B. Wynter’s death are finally answered, both in the past and the present, making for a classic whodunnit with an unforgettable setting. Who wouldn’t want to tune in?
The Residence is currently streaming on Netflix.
