On its surface, like many good mysteries, “The Residence” doesn’t seem outwardly political, despite the fact that the setting is the White House and that the plot revolves around the murder of Chief Usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito), the man in charge of managing the President’s Executive Residence. Set during a State Dinner with the Australian delegation present, while another show would navigate a premise like this by having the CIA, FBI or other agencies take the lead in the mystery, “The Residence” puts consulting detective Cordelia Crupp (Uzo Aduba) front and center. This makes for a delightfully hilarious and intriguing mystery dinner in the house filled with more political figures than any other place in the country.
The eccentric detective figure is a well-worn genre staple. Notable detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Columbo have odd habits that set them apart from everyone else. But more importantly, they have an insanely good eye for detail. These desirable investigative traits influenced the characters in “The Residence,” particularly Cordelia Crupp. These characters are usually white and (with a few notable exceptions) male, but “The Residence” turns this on its head with Cordelia Crupp.
The name should give you a hint for the tone the series is going for, somewhere in between “Knives Out” and “Murder, She Wrote” set in the White House. The eccentric detective figure is very rarely a Black woman, but “The Residence” doesn’t waste any time trying to convince the audience to accept her— they simply let her loose in the narrative. About 15 minutes into the first episode, she attempts to catch a glimpse of a rare bird outside the White House while a host of important men wait for her to solve the murder.
Each episode begins with a tour of the setting. In the first episode, a camera from a first-person perspective zooms into a path from the White House entrance to the Green Room, past a State Dinner with Kylie Minogue performing for guests, and deeper into the third floor, where A.B. Wynter’s dead body lies. This framing device in the form of a congressional committee hearing attempting to determine the events of the night intercuts occasionally.
The best part of this framing device is Senator Bix’s (Eliza Coupe) hilarious recaps of everything that’s happened up until that moment. Otherwise, the framing device helps add to the fast-paced comedic style of “The Residence.” The audience is taken across each of the grand, ornate rooms of the White House, learning about the interpersonal relationships among the staff and the guests to understand how it all culminated in a killing.
Uzo Aduba is the heart of the series as Cordelia Crupp. She’s an unusual figure, who seems more interested in sighting every rare bird on her checklist than solving the murder. Her delightfully sharp repartee contrasts with the white suits around her, an incompetent staff and oblivious guests as she tries to get to the bottom of a murder with a ridiculous number of suspects. At the heart of it, “The Residence” is the cozy but sharp mystery series that offers refreshing entertainment during these turbulent times.
Verdict: “The Residence” is well worth the watch, as audiences delve into a precisely-written mystery headed by a great ensemble cast.
