The Residence Season 1 Review: An Intriguing Whodunit That Fumbles its End
The new Netflix series The Residence is a chaotic whodunit in an atypical location. The series has a pitch-perfect ensemble that keeps its mystery intriguing right until a drawn-out final two episodes, with a wonderful lead in Uzo Aduba’s detective Cordelia Cupp.
The Residence begins with a very familiar premise: an eccentric detective has to find the killer trapped in the same place as them – except this place is The White House. The White House’s chief usher — a meticulously well-mannered Giancarlo Esposito — has been killed, and everyone attending the fancy State Dinner is a suspect.
The series and its writers play with the all-too-obvious references and homages to other murder mysteries throughout, whether it’s Agatha Christie novels or Episode 3 literally being titled “Knives Out.”
The best part of the show is not necessarily the mystery itself, but rather the star-studded ensemble, complete with a cameo from Australian star Kylie Minogue, and various comedy veteran character actors.
Uzo Aduba is a charismatic lead as Cordelia Cupp, full of all the classic bravado of the detective in a murder mystery, trailed by her FBI counterpart Edwin Park, who Randall Park plays with deadpan conviction.
The ensemble is extremely strong, my personal favorites being Ken Marino playing truly despicable and arrogant advisor Harry Hollinger and Isaiah Whitlock Jr. as the good-natured Larry Dokes, Chief of Police. Every cast member plays their (mostly one-note) roles with gusto — especially Bronson Pinchot, who really makes you consider just how seriously someone can take their pastries.
Having such a large ensemble be stuck in the White House is an intriguing concept, with all the staff and political machinations (not just from the politicians) in full display. The staff is petty with each other, and all the major cast members are just suspicious enough to keep you interested and rooting for Cordelia to find the killer.
The show spends a significant amount of time in flashbacks, tracing the events prior to the murder, and also letting us get to know the victim, A.B. Wynter, making sure not to waste Giancarlo Esposito’s considerable talent. That is the benefit of flashbacks, and the show leans into them at several points to successful humorous effect.
However, there are points at which, especially when it comes to the Senate hearings, that these start to feel a little repetitive.
Along with the wildly entertaining ensemble, the show is also quite entertaining in its style too. It keeps the viewers swooping through the rooms, literally taking a bird’s-eye view and making the titular Residence a character in and of itself.
In one particularly amusing bit, different characters narrate a rush outside to see the aftermath of a car crash, but none of them seem to agree on who went, so we see each of those different scenarios play out, becoming increasingly ridiculous.
Although the series keeps us engaged with new stories and rivalries from each of the characters, the fact that the finale is an hour and a half long is a travesty. That is the length of a short movie, and obviously, the show had a lot to do in eight episodes, but it did not need ninety minutes to wrap it up at the end.
As entertaining as Aduba is in her grand reveal of the multiple possible suspects and the multiple possible rooms, it just drags far too long, considering the fact that the series walked us through most of these people and places before.
The reveal of the actual murderer is mildly predictable, but for the impossibility of the timing of the murderer getting in and out of the room and not being seen by anyone else. Molly Griggs is really great as Social Secretary Lily Schumacher, a highly entertaining out-of-touch mean girl that turns absolutely sadistic as soon as the reveal happens.
I do wish Randall Park had more to do – he barely gets to do anything beyond quizzically looking at Cupp and trailing behind her. Their dynamic could have been more interesting, but the fact that there is a break where Cupp can’t figure out the case, and Park betrays her by claiming that all the evidence points to a suicide throws a wrench in their relationship that could have been better fleshed out and resolved.
Although some of the ensemble did feel one-dimensional at certain points, it is by far the best part of The Residence, a murder mystery with several homages to those that came before it, making for a really witty, enjoyable eight episodes of chaos in the White House.
What did you think of The Residence? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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The Residence is available to stream on Netflix.
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Maryam Ahmad
Maryam Ahmad is a writer on pop culture and politics, specifically focusing on South Asian and Muslim representation in media. She is a graduate from Wellesley College with a degree in Political Science and Cinema and Media Studies, and her work has been published in outlets including Nerdist, JoySauce, and The American Muslim Project. She is also the world's biggest Ms. Marvel fan, and can usually be found chipping away at 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles, reading a new fantasy series, or listening to her meticulously curated playlists.