The Resident is returning to Fox with more of Season 5 after taking a couple of weeks off for the MLB’s World Series, but the medical drama won’t quite pick up where it left everybody after Nic’s death. A four-year time jump will find all the characters at different points in their lives than when they were last seen, and for one doctor, that means a family member is in town. Leela Devi’s sister Padma comes to visit, and viewers will see The Resident regular Anuja Joshi acting opposite her real-life twin sister, Aneesha Joshi. And viewers will get to see a fair amount of her!
The casting of Aneesha Joshi means that The Resident can explore a twin plot for Leela without requiring Anuja Joshi to do double duty playing two identical characters, and fans don’t need to worry that the sisters’ storyline will be over after just one episode. Aneesha Joshi has already been bumped up to recurring status as Padma Devi, according to Deadline. She had previously been billed as a guest star for the first episode of Season 5 after the time jump. Not a whole lot is known about how much Padma will impact Leela’s life, but she’ll reportedly cause a stir for her sister.
The Resident bumping Aneesha Joshi up to series regular status hours ahead of Joshi making her fifth season debut on November 9 is a sign that the show intends to explore a family side of Leela that hasn’t really been featured on the show before. It also might mean good news for any fans of the Leela/Devon relationship that had been blossoming on the show prior to the time jump. The promo for what happens after the four years seemingly showed Leela in bed with AJ, which seemed to be a sign that Leela and Devon broke up, until the news of Leela’s identical twin sister turning up.
Nothing has been confirmed about Padma actually pursuing a relationship with AJ or Leela still happily cohabitating with Devon, but fans have far fewer reasons to fear an AJ/Leela/Devon mess when Padma is in the mix as a potential love interest for AJ. And honestly, if AJ is dating Padma, that alone could be enough to cause some tension with Leela. They are identical, after all! And based on the early looks at the Joshi sisters together, it’s easy to see how Leela and Padma could be confused with each other as long as Leela isn’t wearing scrubs. At the very least, we can hope that Padma won’t try to treat any of Leela’s patients!
Both real-life Joshi sisters seem pretty thrilled that Aneesha is joining Anuja on The Resident. Anuja Joshi posted an Instagram Story after the news broke that Padma will be a recurring character, saying “WELCOME ABOARD TWIN!” For her part, Aneesha Joshi posted on Instagram with a set photo to make it clear that playing Padma was exciting for her:
You can see Aneesha Joshi’s debut as Padma Devi paying a visit to sister Leela in the November 9 episode of The Resident Season 5, airing at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. It will be just one part of the show entering a new era following Nic’s death and the big time jump, so be sure to tune in to see the new status quo after four years. If you’re still looking for more viewing options, be sure to check out our 2021 fall TV premiere schedule for what to watch and when to watch it!
