A "brilliant" murder mystery by Netflix and set in the White House, with Kylie Minogue and a detective who goes birdwatching.
The Residence is a show but it is also a place where some are worried about the media effects of a possible isolation of the White House (like Harry Hollinger - chief adviser to the president of the United States of America - played by Ken Marino) and those who, like the eccentric protagonist of the new presidential murder mystery series by Shondaland, the best detective in the world Cordelia Cupp, "tried to take an interest" in this aspect without great results.
It would be completely superfluous to tell you that the script dominates, reigns and supports the show that is formed in the meanders of deductions and in the labyrinth of the investigative skills of the woman called to solve a murder. With her biting humor and her criticism of machismo, Cordelia even manages to find the time to complete her birdwatching notebook. The eight-episode TV series arrives for streaming on Netflix on March 20, 2025, with Uzo Aduba playing the protagonist alongside Randall Park (The Office, ER, CSI), who plays FBI special agent Edwin Park, who Cupp initially keeps close by as a simple bag carrier.
The Residence is Netflix's new "brilliant" murder mystery set in the corridors of the White House
The notes of the piano mark the gravity of the opening scene: a corpse found on the upper floors, and in the middle of a state dinner, of the very man who actually runs the American presidential residence. The heart of the mystery is the murder of A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito), entrusted to detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), one of the most unpredictable investigators around, who will have to unravel a web of lies, fragile agreements and shameful secrets to find the murderer in an impressive number of suspects.
Through a discontinuous narration, the show takes us into the detective's investigative mind (alternating scenes from the past referring to the dinner - described by witnesses) with scenes that take place in the present, in court to reconstruct what happened on the evening of October 11, leading us to explore the most exclusive rooms and the most hidden corridors of the American presidential residence between political intrigues, private secrets and twists (why will Kylie Minogue, present in the room with the guests, be forced to sing one of her songs for a number n of times?).
In the investigation, alongside Cordelia, we find Edwin Park (Randall Park): an FBI special agent with a more pragmatic and skeptical approach, who perfectly supports and favors the detective with the binoculars' brilliant investigative method. We can only reveal that all the guests (who are several hundred) will have to speak with Cupp before leaving the residence and recommend that you do not miss Edwin Park's reaction to the first interrogation with Cordelia.
Between Agatha Christie-style interrogations and Sherlock Holmes-style situations - in the "residence" the dish is served without flame!
The show, based on the book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower, is pleasantly entertaining especially when it drags you into an ambiguous environment, in the tireless thicket of delivery boys, maids, cooks, butlers, ushers and florists, in short, professionals of various types.
Is the perpetrator of the crime hiding in this undergrowth? With a story based on the concept of focus: while everyone else focuses on what is not interesting, Cordelia Cupp – who knows what to look at – manages to direct her gaze and all her observation tools on the right details.
The residence: evaluation and conclusion
Despite the good staging and the decent script (which brings us to know the wisdom of the protagonist that comes from her studies, direct experience and also from the knowledge of all the species of birds), the show however “does not cross the threshold”, it fails to stand out for its narrative technique, originality of the script or for its bizarre or impressive rhythm.
We who were somehow invited together with the other guests to the residence, to spend the evening of October 11, expected that this time something more would happen, we would have liked a flambé recipe, a pinch more originality, irreverence at the White House. And on this point – and not only – we are in affinity with the character of Marvella: a dish, a more spectacular formula (a show with a flame).