The United States finally has a gay president — well, at least on Netflix.
The streaming service recently released The Residence, a mystery following the eccentric Detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) as she solves a murder in the White House residence, where the staff and guests at a state dinner are all suspects. Among the culprits are President Perry Morgan (Paul Fitzgerald) and his husband, First Gentleman Elliot Morgan (Barrett Foa).
Fitzgerald and Foa are each "profoundly proud" to portray queer men in such high positions of authority, as they recently told The Daily Beast how the series carries significance for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I’m a queer man myself, and probably very straight-presenting,” Fitzgerald said. “‘I’m someone who’s very comfortable in my sexuality. I loved just being myself. I didn’t feel like I had to act straight or anything. ... Ultimately, I want to represent that gay people are a multiplicity of things. We can be deadly serious and straight-acting, and we can also jump out of our fucking seat at Kylie Minogue."
“I started in musical theater and Broadway and was out and proud. But then when I got to Hollywood and started on NCIS: Los Angeles, I didn’t know how I’d be received in this town,” Foa added. “I didn’t know if I needed to retreat and hide some of myself. It took years to figure out I can let myself be me however that might manifest. And here I have this role that I can bring my whole self to and not have to hide any shades of me. It’s really lovely living your truth.”
The roles are especially impactful under the real administration, where the president is actively hostile to LGBTQ+ rights. Donald Trump has signed a myriad of executive orders explicitly targeting the queer community — particularly transgender people.
“I feel profoundly proud to create this representation. It’s lovely to imagine we’re in a post-representation or post-identity politics space, but I think that this new administration has disabused that idea,” Fitzgerald said, adding, “TV plays a really important role in helping people see a future that they may not have otherwise seen. If Barrett and I representing this can enlarge the culture of imagination by seeing it mirrored in real life, it would be the proudest moment of my entire career.”
The Residence is streaming exclusively on Netflix.
