"The Residence" Trailer: Uzo Aduba Leads a White House Murder Investigation in Shondaland’s New Netflix Whodunnit Series
Shonda Rhimes brings a Knives Out-style whodunnit to the White House with this new Netflix series, starring Uzo Aduba as brilliant detective Cordelia Cupp investigating a state dinner murder.
Okay, there must be something in the air because we've noticed a lot of shows lately centered around the White House and the Oval Office (see: Paradise, The Night Agent, The Oval, Zero Day). Are they all using the same set, we wonder?
Well, mega TV producer Shonda Rhimes is not one to be left out of the White House genre, as she has just added one of her new shows to that growing pile. But there's a twist! She's also tapping into the new Agatha Christie-like whodunnit craze, much like something out of Knives Out or Columbo.
Now, allow us to introduce you to the next brilliant crime-solving detective creation, Cordelia Cupp! And she's out to find and reveal the real identity of the murderer hiding somewhere in the White House. The only problem is, she must first go through 132 rooms and interrogate 157 possible suspects, including the President himself, to solve the mystery of the one dead body found during a state dinner.
Despite being a murder mystery at its core, The Residence—the latest Netflix series from Shondaland—also doubles as a darkly comedic satire, where a murder investigation has disrupted the typical machinations of the White House, including the U.S. President and his staff's daily operations.
Emmy-winner Uzo Aduba (of Orange Is the New Black fame) stars as Cordelia Cupp, a brilliant consultant for the D.C. homicide division. When a body turns up during a state dinner, she’s called in to crack the case. But in a house filled with power players and secrets, everyone is a suspect—including the President and his top advisers, but also the White House residence staff, who have long had to deal with bloated egos and pushy commands, all with a smile on their faces.
Giancarlo Esposito co-stars as A. B. Wynter, the White House Chief Usher, who is the dearly departed. He claimed he would end up being dead at the end of the night. He got his wish. And because of his overly demanding attitude over the years, he had gained a lot of enemies who wanted nothing more than to see his demise.
Comedian Randall Park also co-stars as an FBI Special Agent looking to help out on the case, while Susan Kelechi Watson (This Is Us) plays Jasmine Haney, a White House Assistant Usher, who becomes Cordelia Cupp's White House guide.
The rest of the cast features a talented roster of comedians and characters, including Ken Marino, Bronson Pinchot, Jason Lee, Edwina Findley, Molly Griggs, Spencer Garrett, Al Franken, Eliza Coupe, Mary Wiseman, Matt Oberg, Paul Fitzgerald, and Isiah Whitlock Jr., and many more.
Created by TV producer-writer Paul William Davies (For The People, Scandal), and inspired by Kate Andersen Brower's White House book of the same name, The Residence is set to debut on Thursday, March 20th on Netflix. Watch the newly-released official trailer, above.
Here’s the show’s official synopsis:
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132 rooms. 157 suspects. One dead body. One wildly eccentric detective. One disastrous state dinner. The Residence is a screwball whodunit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion. Amid all the twists and turns, detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) partners with skeptical FBI special agent Edwin Park (Randall Park) to untangle an intriguing— and deadly —mystery. The victim of the murder is A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito), the White House chief usher — and everyone is a suspect!
