Kevin Spacey is mostly known for his acting endeavors, currently starring in Netflix’s original series House of Cards. However, he’s set to produce a brand new TV project, and interestingly, it’s another drama based around the White House. The new project is called The Resident, and Fifty Shades of Grey producer Dana Brunetti and Fox News anchorwoman Megyn Kelly are also lending a hand.
The Resident hasn’t even found a network, yet, although the project is currently looking toward cable as a potential home. THR reports The Resident is expected to cover several generations of White House Presidential families, along with the staffers that work in the home. It’s described as a show that is a little like Downton Abbey, although class relations and a changing turn-of-the-century economical landscape would probably not be the context. All in all, it doesn’t sound exactly like House of Cards, although if it moves forward, it will feature a familiar setting.
Spacey and Brunetti are on board to produce through Trigger Street, which has also been behind big box office endeavors like Captain Phillips. (Interestingly, Trigger Street is also the company behind Netflix’s House of Cards.) Fox News’ Megyn Kelly is also on board to co-executive produce, so there are a lot of big names involved. Fox 21 TV Studios is a producer, as well.
While TV has needed another solid and lasting medical series for quite some time, I wouldn’t exactly say there’s a huge opening in the market for shows about American politics—especially those revolving around the White House. We already have Veep, House of Cards and Madam Secretary, not to mention the long-running Scandal (I’d list State of Affairs, but we all know what happened to that series). Still, having some mega-producers and well-known names on board should help the project to gain more notice than the average drama in development.
Plus, with high concept shows like this, the most important thing is whether or not they're good, especially on cable. If a show is legitimately great, it can usually find an audience because the bar for success is a lot lower in terms of ratings. So, Spacey and company should be exclusively focused on finding the best possible cast and a great script. With the big names involved, many people will give the show at least one chance when it premieres, and if it's as good as it could be, the sky is the limit. We'll keep you updated on the project as it finds a home and starts adding actual cast members to the fold. Until then, keep getting your White House fill with all of the shows mentioned above.
