The murder mystery genre is experiencing a resurgence, with shows like Only Murders in the Building, A Murder at the End of the World, and Poker Face alongside movies like Knives Out and Death on the Nile drawing huge viewer numbers and earning widespread acclaim. From more humorous takes to serious, mind-bending thrillers, people are eating it all up. The Residence falls right in line with the trend, with Uzo Adubo playing a gender-swapped, Benoit Blanc type character. But there’s a political spin with The Residence given that the setting of the murder is the White House, and the stakes are raised with hundreds of potential suspects, not just a dozen or so.
The eight-episode series, which hails from Shonda Rhimes, the woman behind hit shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, and Bridgerton, has all the right elements for a juicy murder mystery, along with a killer (pun intended) cast.
What Is The Residence About?
The Residence takes place during a White House state dinner entertaining politicians from Australia. The American President is trying to smooth a fractured relationship, so it’s crucial the night goes off without a hitch. But a wrench is thrown into things when White House Chief Usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito in a role that was originally supposed to be played by the late Andre Braugher prior to his untimely death) is found dead.
Police are brought in to investigate and with them is Cordelia Cupp (Adubo), a consulting detective with an impeccable reputation. She’s eccentric, often pausing her investigation to look for birds, crossing them off a list Theodore Roosevelt once devised as well, seeking to see them all from the White House. There’s a method to her madness, however, and a sense that she uses the activities and traits of birds to help with her investigations.
Once she convinces the U.S. President that no one can leave the White House until she is able to question them all and solve the case, she gets to work. She’s mirrored by Edwin Park (Randall Park), an FBI Special Agent who insists he’s there to help but really just gets in her way (and learns a thing or two from her about how to actually conduct an investigation).
The Residence Review
The Residence is a solid murder mystery that kicks off with a bang and continues on with the expected series of clues and misdirects, each piece linking like a puzzle as you move from one episode to the next. At times, it almost feels like you’re playing a board game or video game. Was it Tripp Morgan (Jason Lee), the president’s slacker brother who despises everything about the White House and his brother, in the game room with a blunt object?
Maybe it was the president’s chief advisor Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino), who seems to want nothing more than for the investigation to end and the death deemed a suicide. There’s also Jasmine Haney (Susan Kelechi Watson), White House Assistant Usher who had just found out A.B. wasn’t retiring and she wouldn’t be taking over.
Then, there’s Lilly Schumacher (Molly Griggs), the president’s social secretary who seemed to have done everything wrong that night; Didier Gotthard (Bronson Pinchot), the White House executive pastry chef who argued with A.B. over creative control of his menu and has a wonderful set of carving knives; Marvella (Mary Wiseman), the temperamental White House executive chef; Nan Cox (Jane Curtin), the First Gentleman’s surly mother; or Sheila Cannon (Edwina Findley), the talkative Butler who feared A.B. was going to fire her.
Don’t forget singer Kylie Minogue who was just there on invitation and ended up having to perform. Hugh Jackman is hilariously also “there” providing comic relief even though the actor isn’t actually in the show. It’s corny but also kind of brilliant how they integrated him. Everyone is a suspect (well, maybe not Minogue and Jackman), and everyone seemingly had a potential reason to want A.B. dead, or at least had the means and access to have killed him.
The merry-go-round whodunnit dance is what fans of the genre crave, and you get that in spades in The Residence. You’ll be convinced it’s one person in one episode, then consider someone else the next. From the suspicious glances to the convincing reenactments, you’ll love putting yourself in Cupp’s shoes as she hunts for clues, signs, anything to help her determine the guilty party. Was that cup there before? What’s that stain on the back of his jacket? What looks out of place in the room?
It does get exhausting, even frustrating at times. You’ll feel like you’re done with the fast-talking interrogations and just want the answer, already, so you can move on. Plus, it seems all too convenient that so much went wrong on one single night, all of which led back in some way to A.B. But he was the Chief Usher, after all, the singular person entrusted with ensuring the White House runs like a well-oiled machine year after year, administration after administration, no matter who is occupying its office.
The events of the fateful night are nicely framed as being interspersed with present day footage of a congressional committee, overseen by Al Franken as Washington senior senator Aaron Filkins. Each person provides testimony before a group of senators, including Eliza Coupe as the hilariously annoyed senator Margery Bay Bix who can’t resist interjecting as often as she can, commenting and questioning the incredulity of it all.
Was this case actually solved in the end, and why is it being brought forth to a committee? It all comes together in the end, but the real pleasure is the journey to get there and all the eccentric characters you meet along the way.
Should You Watch The Residence?
If you like movies like Knives Out and Glass Onion and shows like Apple TV+’s The Afterparty or Peacock’s Poker Face, The Residence will be right up your alley. It’s a lot more humor than Rhimes’ fans will be used to from her more serious shows like Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. But her signature style is still all over it.
Rhimes is known for placing strong, Black female characters at the centre of her shows and The Residence is no exception. Adubo has already proven herself a force in acting through memorable roles in shows like Orange is the New Black and Mrs. America. She beautifully leads this series with the type of deadpan humor and oddball personality that’s reminiscent of some of the most iconic procedurals and quirky detective characters.
She’s intentionally similar to Knives Out’s Benoit Blanc, most recently played by Daniel Craig and inspired by Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. Both have a keen sense of observation that no one recognizes until that pivotal moment, or moments, when they drop the gauntlet and explain it all to dropped jaws. When they were seemingly wasting time milling about and asking what appeared to be non-sensical questions, they were taking it all in and piecing everything together in their heads. Cupp doesn’t ever have suspects, she merely finds things “interesting.” And when she finds something interesting, she follows the trail until it either runs cold or leads to another avenue to explore.
You’ll have a tough time not seeing Blanc all over the character, and Rhimes knows it. One of the show’s episodes is named “Knives Out,” for goodness sakes, a fitting homage to the movie and concept that clearly inspired it. There’s a line in the first episode as well that outright alludes to the popular film. Rhimes isn’t making a copycat show, she’s honoring the film and the character in her own way, and it works.
Does Cupp live up to Blanc and Poirot, and will she be added to the list of the best eccentric yet brilliant fictional detectives? The jury is still out. But the Shondaland show is plenty fun. It’s the type of series that moves slowly and in so many directions that it almost becomes fatiguing by the halfway point. But once invested, you’ll want to see it through and find out if your guess (or one of your many guesses) was right about who the killer is.
The Residence is light, funny entertainment that will delight fans of the genre with its predictable unpredictability.