Transfer Over, Benoit Blanc; Uzo Aduba’s Quirky Detective Elevates Netflix’s White Home Homicide Thriller

You realize the homicide thriller style has made a resurgence — or maybe by no means actually died — when there’s even a scene in a brand new homicide thriller present remarking on it. That is the case, no pun supposed, for Netflix’s new sequence The Residence, produced in partnership with Shondaland and created by Paul William Davies (For The Individuals, Scandal). However it’s not sufficient to merely acknowledge the uptick in onscreen mysteries that folks love tuning in to unravel; with a view to stand out from the remainder of the pack, which now contains mysteries of each a whodunit and a howcatchem-style nature, you need to supply a brand new idea whereas unspooling twists and turns that maintain viewers reeled in.

Whereas The Residence could also be a bit sluggish to begin in its first episode, which kicks off with the stunning homicide of a longtime White Home worker, the whole lot shifts right into a a lot stronger gear as soon as Detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) arrives on the scene. From then on, Netflix’s newest homicide thriller turns into a whirlwind of faces and names, a lot so that you just might need bother conserving all of it straight — however with it comes the knowledge that the keenly-focused Cupp will resolve issues, even when she goes about doing so in essentially the most shocking method potential.

What Is ‘The Residence’ About?

On this explicit night time, the White Home is already full of company — President Perry Morgan (Paul Fitzgerald) and the First Gentleman, Elliot Morgan (Barrett Foa), are internet hosting a state dinner — however the black-tie occasion turns into disastrous early on when the physique of White Home chief usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) is found by the President’s mother-in-law, Nan Cox (Jane Curtin). Whereas a number of senior White Home advisors are scrambling to maintain the scenario underneath wraps, Metropolitan PD chief of police Larry Dokes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) faucets his most sought-after investigator, Detective Cordelia Cupp (Aduba), to unravel the thriller of whether or not Wynter’s loss of life was a suicide or one thing extra sinister. She’s partnered with FBI Agent Edwin Park (Randall Park), who’s a bit extra skeptical of Cupp’s investigational strategies, which results in the 2 butting heads at each flip as they must sift by way of — and rule out — the 157 potential suspects who both dwell or work within the White Home.

Cupp’s unconventional method to crime-solving, as we quickly uncover, stems from her different greatest ardour: birding. Because of this, she’s keenly observant and pays spectacular consideration to even the smallest particulars, however she additionally has infinite quantities of persistence, born of getting to lie in watch for hours whereas hoping to catch a glimpse of her desired goal. As she asserts many occasions all through the season (of which the primary seven episodes had been supplied for assessment), Cupp has loads of time to take a seat calmly throughout interrogation, whereas a possible suspect restlessly squirms — which, most of the time, results in them spilling what’s actually beneath the lies they have been spinning up till that time. As Cupp’s pursuit of the reality takes her by way of each the higher echelons of the White Home and the decrease employees members who are supposed to neither be seen nor heard, we develop an much more intricate image of what it takes to flawlessly run an operation of this dimension — in addition to who could have had a private bone to choose with A.B. Wynter, and why.

On the similar time, the sequence additionally takes us into the longer term, when the homicide investigation has already concluded and a Senate committee listening to is going down relating to White Home safety. As Park and others recount what occurred that night time to numerous committee members (amongst them senators performed by Al Franken and a scene-chewing Eliza Coupe), the main focus rapidly shifts as to if sure items of proof ought to benefit the case being reopened — and why, within the midst of the media circus that outcomes, Detective Cordelia Cupp is nowhere to be discovered.

Uzo Aduba and Giancarlo Esposito Stand Out in ‘The Residence’s Packed Ensemble

Regardless of the conceit, the success of a homicide thriller can dwell or die on the shoulders of its lead investigator — and whereas the trope of a unusual crime-solver within the vein of Knives Out‘s Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) can typically really feel drained or overdone, Aduba’s efficiency alone is what makes The Residence‘s Cordelia Cupp somebody you do not wish to take your eyes off of. Because of her fast wit, sharp comedic timing, outwardly tranquil demeanor, and occasional glimpses of vulnerability, the tip result’s a lead which may have run the danger of ending up gimmicky in several palms. As an actor who arguably gained wider consideration by way of her function in one other Netflix present in Orange Is the New Black, Aduba has greater than confirmed herself within the years since that she deserves to steer her personal sequence — and The Residence turns into the right car for her to showcase all of her clearest strengths.

If Aduba’s Cordelia Cupp is among the cornerstones of The Residence, Esposito’s efficiency as A.B. Wynter gives one other agency basis for the narrative. In some ways, the brand new Netflix sequence turns into extra of a personality examine first and a homicide thriller second, as Esposito (who took over the function from Andre Braugher following his surprising passing in 2023) anchors the story’s most necessary throughline. Regardless of being the homicide sufferer, we nonetheless spend loads of time with Wynter by way of flashbacks, sparked by different characters’ retellings of that fateful night time. After all, no two characters can agree on what they recall seeing — or what they assume they noticed — which implies that Esposito additionally shoulders the accountability of depicting Wynter not simply as the person he actually was, however as the person others keep in mind him being, particularly within the hours main as much as his loss of life.

The Residence‘s hefty ensemble solid makes the present’s world — largely restricted to the White Home inside and the encircling grounds within the preliminary episodes — really feel that rather more outlined and lived-in. Whether or not they’re solely current for a quick second or recur extra all through the investigation, the sheer variety of faces who shuffle on and offscreen creates a chaotic, madcap vitality that rewards shut viewing in order to not overlook any necessary clues. (In different phrases, this is not the kind of sequence the place you may get away with dividing your consideration between two screens if you wish to have any sense of what is going on on.) Whereas The Residence‘s tone additionally veers a lot nearer to comedy total, there are some surprisingly poignant beats — Jason Lee, who performs the President’s deadbeat brother Tripp Morgan, delivers a weak monologue about being the unfavored youthful sibling within the household, whereas Mel Rodriguez (Better Call Saul) and Julieth Restrepo (Griselda) kind an unlikely and surprising pairing that turns into the present’s beating coronary heart.

Between these extra tender moments and a few completely glorious line deliveries from Aduba, Park, Whitlock Jr., Coupe, Ken Marino, Edwina Findley, Bronson Pinchot, Mary Wiseman, Brett Tucker, and the record goes on, The Residence totally asserts itself as a welcome and daring addition to the homicide thriller canon on streaming. It is troublesome to say whether or not this explicit case might be wrapped up in a satisfying method, on condition that the finale was withheld from reviewers, however by the point you attain the penultimate episode, there must be little or no doubt left in your thoughts that Detective Cordelia Cupp has the whole lot she must catch herself a killer.

The Residence is now out there to stream on Netflix.

The Residence

Uzo Aduba provides one among her finest performances as an unconventional detective in Netflix’s White Home homicide thriller The Residence.

Launch Date

March 20, 2024

Community

Netflix

Writers

Paul William Davies

Execs & Cons

• Aduba and Randall Park have one of many present’s finest odd-couple dynamics as reluctant companions.
• The present’s large ensemble permits for loads of twists as the principle homicide suspect consistently shifts.
• Giancarlo Esposito, Jane Curtin, Jason Lee, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mel Rodriguez, and Julieth Restrepo are solely a few of the standouts inside the solid.

• With out reviewing the final episode, it is troublesome to say whether or not the present will certainly stick the touchdown.