Oh, please, please, please, let there be a second season! When a staff member is found murdered during a State Dinner at the White House, the murderer and the guests are not only introduced to the world of birding but to the female version of Columbo.
The Residence
I’m guessing you can tell by my lead paragraph just how psyched up I am about this series. The Residence, inspired by Kate Anderssen Brower’s book, was created by Paul William Davies for Netflix. Produced by Shondaland, The Residence revolves around the murder of A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito), The White House Chief Usher, during a State Dinner at the White House where President Morgan (Paul Fitzgerald) and his husband (Barrett Foa) try to mend fences with the Australian Ambassador (Nathan Lovejoy). Since the murder falls under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police Department, the Chief of Police (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) calls in a world-famous detective to help with the case.
Uzo Aduba plays Cordelia Cupp with such comedic insight and flair that I guarantee you will be hooked within the first twenty minutes of the series. Uzo Aduba’s Cordelia Cupp investigates the case with the same focus that she has used successfully in her bird watching accomplishments…and her techniques cause havoc with the White House staff who want to keep the death a secret from the public.
Throughout the eight episodes of The Residence, we, along with Cordelia Cupp, assume that we have identified the killer, but there are so many people with a motive and so many hidden clues turning up at the last moment that The Residence keeps us committed to finding out the truth. Thus, I binged-watched all eight episodes in one day.
Conclusion
There are so many suspects from the loyal staffer (Susan Kelechi Watson) who was set to succeed Wynter as head usher, the pushy Social Secretary (Molly Griggs), the angry pastry chef (Bronson Pinchot), and the obnoxious chief adviser to the President (Ken Marino). Then there is also the mysterious party crasher to add to the confusion.
Each episode of The Residence is titled to pay tribute to other murder mysteries. I highly recommend this series because it’s not only funny in a Knives Out/Glass Onion type of presentation, but you become invested in all the characters, particularly Uzo Aduba’s Cordelia Cupp. If I’m ever murdered, I’d definitely want a Cordelia Cupp investigating my death, but if I’m the killer…. she would surely be my nemesis.
