“The Residence” was one of the first projects Shondaland announced to be in development back in 2018, as part of the company’s massive producing deal with Netflix. One pandemic and two strikes later — plus the death of a key cast member — the brilliant whodunnit starring Uzo Aduba is finally making its debut Thursday.
Created by Paul William Davies and based on the non-fiction book “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House” by Kate Andersen Brower, the series delivers a meticulous survey on the lives and inner workings of the White House staff, through the scope of a sweeping murder investigation led by Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), known as “the best detective in the world.”
She is brought in to investigate after White House chief usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) is found dead in the Game Room in the middle of an official state dinner for Australia, alongside FBI special agent Edwin Park (Randall Park). With 157 suspects to consider across 132 rooms, Cordelia’s investigation plays like a theater production across the dozens of rooms in the most popular address in the world.
“I had this bizarre middle of the night epiphany watching an old C-SPAN interview with the then-chief usher during the Clinton administration. He was testifying about moving boxes around the White House, talking about the Game Room and the Music Room and the Library. I was like, ‘Oh, this is a Clue board,’” Davies told The Wrap. “I’ve always loved murder mysteries so I thought this could be like a ‘Knives Out,’ ‘Last of Sheila’ kind of story.”
The role of A.B. Wynter — the key murder victim on “The Residence” — was originally played by Andre Braugher, who died in December 2023 in the midst of filming. Davies called the sudden loss “devastating” and praised Esposito for stepping into the role.
Though A.B. Wynter’s murder anchors the proceedings, individual employees get their spotlight throughout the investigation, from assistant usher Jasmine (“This Is Us” alum Susan Kelechi Watson) to the executive chef (Mary Wiseman) to the butler (Edwina Findley), among many others. The suspect pool also includes President Perry Morgan (Paul Fitzgerald) and his family, along with trusted advisor and political animal Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino).
That’s a lot of character development to tap into a convoluted whodunnit, but “The Residence” masters that delicate balance with its theatrical approach to dialogue and presentation — ensuring all the important details for the case are never lost across the suspects’ individual testimonies.
“People usually talk about it like ‘upstairs-downstairs’ in terms of the staff and the folks who live in the White House. But to me, there was almost something theatrical about it, like front of stage and backstage,” Davies said. “You will notice in watching the show, there’s a lot of doors opening and closing and people coming through, the scenes just build on themselves… It adds to the chaos, which to me is really fun.”
Along with the actual investigation, “The Residence” also features a Senate committee hearing led by Al Franken and Eliza Coupe in standout performances. Davies called those scenes an ode to ’70s conspiracy thrillers.
Being set at the White House already gives the show an air of political grandeur, but Davies said the show purposefully avoided any party affiliations or overt statements reflecting the current chaos at the White House. The fact that the show features a gay POTUS and diverse cast should be the first clue, but Davies said the idea was to keep focus on the legacy of the people who have run the White House across administrations.
“A lot of these anecdotes [in the book and the show] are rooted in real things and real administrations spanning the whole political spectrum,” Davies added. “The White House has been there for hundreds of years, it’s endured a lot of chaos. I wanted the show to be enjoyable, accessible and beyond any particular time or place.”
Of course the murder mystery would not be complete without its ace detective, which Aduba tackles flawlessly in her performance as Cordelia Cupp — an avid birder who uses that attention to detail and patience of observation to crack even the most impossible crimes.
Davies said that the detective role was initially much smaller as he wrote the drafts for the show. But “the indomitable force” of Cordelia pushed him to expand her footprint — eventually becoming the center of the sprawling ensemble. Then Aduba agreed to play the role and things took off from there.
“I had not finished writing all of the episodes, so I could write more to her and I certainly took advantage of that,” he said.
Could “The Residence” be a launching pad for Cordelia Cupp to investigate more murders for Netflix? Much like Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc does for the streamer and Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale tackles in “Poker Face” on Peacock?
“I think there’s lots of stories to tell with [Cordelia], and I definitely have a lot of ideas,” Davies said.
“The Residence” is now streaming on Netflix.
