You know the murder mystery genre has made a resurgence — or perhaps never truly died — when there’s even a scene in a new murder mystery show remarking on it. That’s the case, no pun intended, for Netflix’s new series The Residence, produced in partnership with Shondaland and created by Paul William Davies (For The People, Scandal). But it’s not enough to merely acknowledge the uptick in onscreen mysteries that people love tuning in to solve; in order to stand out from the rest of the pack, which now includes mysteries of both a whodunit and a howcatchem-style nature, you have to offer a new concept while unspooling twists and turns that keep viewers reeled in.
While The Residence may be a bit slow to start in its first episode, which kicks off with the shocking murder of a longtime White House employee, everything shifts into a much stronger gear once Detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) arrives on the scene. From then on, Netflix’s latest murder mystery becomes a whirlwind of faces and names, so much so that you might have trouble keeping it all straight — but with it comes the certainty that the keenly-focused Cupp will get to the bottom of things, even if she goes about doing so in the most surprising way possible.
What Is ‘The Residence’ About?
On this particular night, the White House is already packed with guests — President Perry Morgan (Paul Fitzgerald) and the First Gentleman, Elliot Morgan (Barrett Foa), are hosting a state dinner — but the black-tie event becomes disastrous early on when the body of White House chief usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) is discovered by the President’s mother-in-law, Nan Cox (Jane Curtin). While several senior White House advisors are scrambling to keep the situation under wraps, Metropolitan PD chief of police Larry Dokes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) taps his most sought-after investigator, Detective Cordelia Cupp (Aduba), to solve the mystery of whether Wynter’s death was a suicide or something more sinister. She’s partnered with FBI Agent Edwin Park (Randall Park), who’s a bit more skeptical of Cupp’s investigational methods, which leads to the two butting heads at every turn as they have to sift through — and rule out — the 157 potential suspects who either live or work in the White House.
Cupp’s unconventional approach to crime-solving, as we soon discover, stems from her other biggest passion: birding. As a result, she’s keenly observant and pays impressive attention to even the smallest details, but she also has infinite amounts of patience, born of having to lie in wait for hours while hoping to catch a glimpse of her desired target. As she asserts many times throughout the season (of which the first seven episodes were provided for review), Cupp has plenty of time to sit calmly during interrogation, while a potential suspect restlessly squirms — which, more often than not, leads to them spilling what’s really beneath the lies they’ve been spinning up until that point. As Cupp’s pursuit of the truth takes her through both the upper echelons of the White House and the lower staff members who are meant to neither be seen nor heard, we develop an even more intricate picture of what it takes to flawlessly run an operation of this size — as well as who may have had a personal bone to pick with A.B. Wynter, and why.
At the same time, the series also takes us into the future, when the murder investigation has already concluded and a Senate committee hearing is taking place regarding White House security. As Park and others recount what happened that night to various committee members (among them senators played by Al Franken and a scene-chewing Eliza Coupe), the focus quickly shifts to whether certain pieces of evidence should merit the case being reopened — and why, in the midst of the media circus that results, Detective Cordelia Cupp is nowhere to be found.
Uzo Aduba and Giancarlo Esposito Stand Out in ‘The Residence’s Packed Ensemble
Whatever the conceit, the success of a murder mystery can live or die on the shoulders of its lead investigator — and while the trope of a quirky crime-solver in the vein of Knives Out‘s Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) can often feel tired or overdone, Aduba’s performance alone is what makes The Residence‘s Cordelia Cupp someone you don’t want to take your eyes off of. Thanks to her quick wit, sharp comedic timing, outwardly tranquil demeanor, and occasional glimpses of vulnerability, the end result is a lead that might have run the risk of ending up gimmicky in different hands. As an actor who arguably gained wider attention through her role in another Netflix show in Orange Is the New Black, Aduba has more than proven herself in the years since that she deserves to lead her own series — and The Residence becomes the perfect vehicle for her to showcase all of her clearest strengths.
If Aduba’s Cordelia Cupp is one of the cornerstones of The Residence, Esposito’s performance as A.B. Wynter provides another firm foundation for the narrative. In many ways, the new Netflix series becomes more of a character study first and a murder mystery second, as Esposito (who took over the role from Andre Braugher following his unexpected passing in 2023) anchors the story’s most important throughline. Despite being the murder victim, we still spend plenty of time with Wynter through flashbacks, sparked by other characters’ retellings of that fateful night. Of course, no two characters can agree on what they recall seeing — or what they think they saw — which means that Esposito also shoulders the responsibility of depicting Wynter not just as the man he really was, but as the man others remember him being, especially in the hours leading up to his death.
The Residence‘s hefty ensemble cast makes the show’s world — largely restricted to the White House interior and the surrounding grounds in the initial episodes — feel that much more defined and lived-in. Whether they’re only present for a brief moment or recur more throughout the investigation, the sheer number of faces who shuffle on and offscreen creates a chaotic, madcap energy that rewards close viewing so as not to overlook any important clues. (In other words, this isn’t the type of series where you can get away with dividing your attention between two screens if you want to have any sense of what’s going on.) While The Residence‘s tone also veers much closer to comedy overall, there are some surprisingly poignant beats — Jason Lee, who plays the President’s deadbeat brother Tripp Morgan, delivers a vulnerable monologue about being the unfavored younger sibling in the family, while Mel Rodriguez (Better Call Saul) and Julieth Restrepo (Griselda) form an unlikely and unexpected pairing that becomes the show’s beating heart.
Between those more tender moments and some absolutely excellent line deliveries from Aduba, Park, Whitlock Jr., Coupe, Ken Marino, Edwina Findley, Bronson Pinchot, Mary Wiseman, Brett Tucker, and the list goes on, The Residence fully asserts itself as a welcome and bold addition to the murder mystery canon on streaming. It’s difficult to say whether this particular case will be wrapped up in a satisfying manner, given that the finale was withheld from reviewers, but by the time you reach the penultimate episode, there should be very little doubt left in your mind that Detective Cordelia Cupp has everything she needs to catch herself a killer.
The Residence is now available to stream on Netflix.
The Residence
Uzo Aduba gives one of her best performances as an unconventional detective in Netflix’s White House murder mystery The Residence.
- Release Date
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March 20, 2024
- Network
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Netflix
- Writers
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Paul William Davies
- Aduba and Randall Park have one of the show’s best odd-couple dynamics as reluctant partners.
- The show’s huge ensemble allows for plenty of twists as the main murder suspect constantly shifts.
- Giancarlo Esposito, Jane Curtin, Jason Lee, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mel Rodriguez, and Julieth Restrepo are only some of the standouts within the cast.
- Without reviewing the last episode, it’s difficult to say whether the show will definitely stick the landing.
