NEW Episode: The White House 1600 Sessions Podcast “Recreating the White House: Netflix and Shondaland’s The Residence”

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin Discusses Reimagining the Executive Mansion for Television and Film with Production Designer Fran ç ois Audouy

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The White House Historical Association released a new episode of The White House 1600 Sessions podcast today on the making of the largest recreation of the Executive Mansion for a television or film production. In the episode, Stewart McLaurin, president of the Association, visits the Netflix-Epic Studio in Los Angeles to interview François Audouy, the masterful production designer behind The Residence and other notable productions including the films A Complete Unknown and Ford v Ferrari.

The Emmy-nominated series follows a brilliant, eccentric detective tasked with solving a fictional murder in the White House residence. The Executive Mansion is both a contextual setting and a critical element in the show, with the rooms and layout becoming a central part of the mystery. The show also focuses very much on the staff who work in the White House and offers a peek behind the scenes to spaces that are not typically open to the public.

“I think it’s wonderful that the White House, as a building, as a space, was a character in this story,” McLaurin said. “And that’s the way it is in reality. It is a sound stage for American history.”

From iconic State Rooms—the Blue Room, the State Dining Room, and the Diplomatic Reception Room—to service corridors, the basement, and mezzanine spaces, Audouy describes how his team approached the monumental task of bringing the stage to life. It was the biggest White House set ever built, consisting of 10 miles of molding, 60 rooms, 200 working doors, 30,000ft² of scenery, and 144,000 pounds of flooring.

“I wanted to make sure that the audience was understanding and learning about the White House,” Audouy said, as he described balancing cinematic needs with historical accuracy.

He detailed the extensive process of researching archival imagery, measured drawings, and publications culled from multiple sources, including the White House Historical Association, in order to recreate the architectural design, period-appropriate finishes, lighting, and décor.

At the same time, the story’s fictional presidency and ambiguous time frame allowed Audouy to take certain creative liberties. For example, he was inspired to create the Blue Room in the style of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s vibrant renovation and designed the Solarium to align with the fictional president’s ethos.

“What François and his team have done is a wonderful benefit to our education mission, to teach the broader public about these spaces in a different way,” McLaurin said. “They’ve made a wonderful tribute to the men and women who work in this house behind the scenes.”

Haley Rivero O’Connor, former director of external relations and special projects at the Association and the former executive assistant to the White House Chief Usher from 2019-2022, was instrumental in collaborating with Audouy as the White House consultant to The Residence. Based on her experience, she helped writers, actors, and production designers depict the realism of the show’s set and storylines. Rivero O’Connor provided key insights about these behind-the-scenes details that were woven into the storyline, as shared in a White House 1600 Sessions Short.

The White House 1600 Sessions podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and The Residence can be streamed on Netflix.

Visitors can explore the rooms of the White House like never before at The People’s House: A White House Experience. On this immersive educational journey, visitors will learn the story of the Executive Mansion and its inhabitants, notably featuring an exact replica of the Oval Office. The People’s House is located a block away from the White House at 1700 Pennsylvania, NW and is open to the public daily 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The full video of this podcast episode is also available on the White House Historical Association’s YouTube channel here.

The White House 1600 Sessions

The White House Historical Association’s President Stewart McLaurin is the host of The White House 1600 Sessions, the Association’s official audio and video podcast devoted to exploring the history, cultural impact, untold stories, and personal accounts of America’s most iconic residence and highest office.

About the White House Historical Association

The White House Historical Association was founded in 1961 by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to support her vision to restore and preserve the Executive Mansion and its legacy for generations to come. Mrs. Kennedy sought to inspire Americans, especially children, to explore and engage with American history and its presidents. Supported entirely by private resources, the Association is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has contributed more than $115 million to the White House in fulfillment of its mission. To learn more about the White House Historical Association, please visit WhiteHouseHistory.org.

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SOURCE The White House Historical Association

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