Al Franken, who resigned in disgrace from the U.S. Senate over sexual misconduct accusations in 2017 during the height of the #MeToo movement, is now set to play a U.S. Senator in an upcoming TV show.
The new political comedy-drama series entitled, The Residence, is being produced for Netflix by extreme leftist Shonda Rhimes’s Shondaland.
The series has had a rocky road to filming. Announced in 2018, it was initially set to star Andre Braugher in the lead role. But by 2023, the series was put on hold — as most of Hollywood was — when the actors and writers strikes shut film production down.
Another road block was thrown in front of the Paul William Davie-created series when Braugher passed away unexpectedly in Dec. But now the series is set to move ahead again, this time with Braugher’s role being recast with Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito.
The series that is now finally going before the cameras will follow a scandalous murder in the White House and the goings on among White House staffers as the mystery unfolds and police investigate possible suspects who were attending a state dinner during the murder.
One of the show’s latest additions is Franken, who will portray Washington State Sen. Aaron Filkins.
Franken, of course, was a senator in real life after being elected to office in a controversial election fraught with voter fraud in Minnesota in 2008.
But after eight years in the upper chamber, the former Saturday Night Live writer and comedian was pushed out of office with #MeToo accusations dogging him after being caught in photos pawing at women and being accused of sexual misconduct. He resigned from office on Jan. 2, 2018.
With the series just now going before the cameras, it won’t make it to the streaming giant until sometime in 2025.
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