The Residence
Created by Paul William Davies
Based on The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower
Starring
Uzo Aduba as Cordelia Cupp, a consultant with the Metropolitan Police Department
Giancarlo Esposito as A. B. Wynter, the White House Chief Usher
Molly Griggs as Lilly Schumacher, the President’s social secretary
Ken Marino as Harry Hollinger, the President’s chief adviser
Randall Park as Edwin Park, an FBI Special Agent
Susan Kelechi Watson as Jasmine Haney, a White House Assistant Usher
Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Larry Dokes, the Chief of Police at the MPD
Edwina Findley as Sheila Cannon, a White House Butler
Jason Lee as Tripp Morgan, the President’s brother
Al Mitchell as Rollie Bridgewater, the White House’s Head Butler
Dan Perrault as Colin Trask, Head of the Presidential Detail for the Secret Service
Bronson Pinchot as Didier Gotthard, the White House Executive Pastry Chef
Julieth Restrepo as Elsyie Chayle, Housekeeper.
Mel Rodriguez as Bruce Geller, Engineer
Mary Wiseman as Marvella, the White House Executive Chef
Country of origin United States
Original language English
No. of seasons 1 No. of episodes 8
Production
Executive producers Paul William Davies, Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers
Running time 47–87 minutes
Production companies: Shondaland, Davies Heavy Industries
Original release Netflix March 20, 2025
The Residence is superficially your standard locked-room murder mystery. SPOILER: It was Colonel Mustard, in the Conservatory, with a Candlestick. OK, there IS a candlestick in the series, but it isn’t the murder weapon. And since the locked room is in fact the White House, there may well be a conservatory. There is a fairly large gardeners’ shed.
I spotted Giancarlo Esposito in the credits. He is pretty much America’s favorite villain ever since his role as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad. I was more than a little shocked to discover that he was in the role of “Mr. Black”–i.e. “The Body.” That struck me as a bit of a waste of a good actor, but no worries; there’s a lot of flashback of Esposito’s A. B. Wynter, showing why it was a mystery why anyone would do him harm and simultaneously showing why some 152 people in the White House during a state dinner might have wanted to. Yes, this is a satisfyingly convoluted and complicated mystery.
The ‘Great Detective’ in this instance is Cordelia Cupp, made real by Uzo Aduba. Like all Great Detectives, she is incredibly observant, fastidious, detail-driven, and highly eccentric. Sherlock has his violin, Batman fiddles with Robin, and she bird-watches. Even a normal White House has more than its share of peacocks, hawks, and vultures, I suppose. But she likes the feathered ones that mostly hang out in trees.
AB is found in the Game Room with both his wrists slit and a suicide note in his own writing in his suit jacket pocket. Despite a lack of blood, indicating the wrist wounds were post mortem, the White House wants it declared a most unfortunate suicide. Cupp, a consultant to the Metropolitan PD, is called in, and she immediately orders the White House shut down, trapping the President, much of his administration, and the delegation from Australia, overnight while she investigates.
Cupp has mastered the art of interrogation through the use of the Level Stare. She just simply impasses her subjects into sweating, twitching, and babbling. Sometimes that’s more effective than asking questions, and her character knows exactly how and when to do it.
The scene goes back and forth between that night at the White House and a Senate investigation into the death some weeks later, chaired by Al Franken, who seems to have a good grasp of how a senator would behave.
The direction and editing in this are superb, combining a rich mix of mystery and humor. The cast of suspects, while large, is almost unanimously memorable and entertaining. There’s a good, credible melange of workplace rivalries and top-level politics, and the characters are entertaining blends of brilliance and goofiness. It makes for a series that is both engrossing and downright fun.
Now on Netflix.