There's How to Get Away With Murder and then there's The Residence. Both are Shondaland creations – executive produced by Bridgerton creator Shonda Rhimes – and both have elements of murder mystery.
But while they are each exceptionally brilliant, they are also wildly different.
Unlike How to Get Away With Murder, which as well as being fun does delve into some heavy themes, there is nothing serious about The Residence. And yet, everything is deadly serious to those who inhabit the world in which the murder takes place.
Here passions run extremely high, as characters get to the arduous task of untangling the case whilst desperately trying not to incriminate themselves.
It is deeply amusing from start to… well, almost finish – as this review is based on all episodes but the finale. However we're confident that the show's creative team (which also includes creator and showrunner Paul William Davies) will nail the ending in the most unexpected, utterly outlandish way – so as to be in-keeping with the tone set by the show.
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First though, let's set the scene. Our words won't be quite as entertaining as watching The Residence itself, but picture this: A lavish State dinner under way at the White House, Kylie Minogue (yes, Kylie Minogue) is performing 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' to an enraptured audience, while 'Hugh Jackman' has the guests in a tizzy.
Meanwhile, two floors above, a man lies dead, with blood staining his shirt.
His murderer is at large, presumably still in the house, while those behind the scenes are in a flap trying to work out who has done it. Enter our sharp investigator, Detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba).
Cupp's wildly brilliant, idiosyncratic nature fits the typical brief of this type of role. Still, despite having a character that doesn't reinvent the wheel, Aduba feels undeniably inspired, which is paramount considering the scenes in the White House (which take up half of the show) are led by her.
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From her first moments on screen, audiences get an instant feel for Cupp's quirkiness.
She is away from everyone else, in the grounds of the White House, birding – by this, we mean searching for the common Hawk.
Quirky, right? And fitting too, as it is her own hawk-eyed observations that go on to piece the case together, in both entertaining and unique ways. Her charm, however, is lost on those around her, who are quick to contradict her and who grow impatient with her offbeat way of doing things.
While Cupp works alone – despite Special Agent FBI Edwin Park's (Randall Park) desperation to insert himself into the operation – Aduba does not. As such, the ensemble is just as spellbinding, starting with the dead man.
Chief Usher A.B Wynter's (Giancarlo Esposito) appearances are resigned to flashback scenes, but as the whole show hops back and forth he still feels embedded in the action.
Esposito is one of those exquisite actors who just delivers in every role. Unlike some of the other characters, who bring a larger-than-life energy, Esposito's A.B is cool and collected. He is literally the embodiment of the meme of the dog sitting pretty, while everything burns around him.
So in the moments when the mask slips, and the chaos surrounding him reaches boiling point, his performance becomes even more impactful. Despite his seriousness though, the show never forgets the remit of its genre and so everything is laced with fun.
One of The Residence's strengths comes from the different kinds of comedy elements that play out, through the varied ways that tension is expressed throughout the house.
There's the familial tensions between President Perry Morgan (Paul Fitzgerald) and his screwup brother Tripp Morgan (Jason Lee); their conflict will feel familiar to anyone with a sibling. The family's dysfunction stretches to the president's mother-in-law (played by Jane Curtin), whose unfiltered nature and tendency to cause mischief starts but by no means ends with her open dislike for her son's husband. The First Husband, Elliott Morgan, (Barrett Foa) might just be the most unproblematic one of them all.
Big comedy also comes into play whenever proud chefs Didier (Bronson Pinchot) and Marvella's (Mary Wiseman) egos brush against one another and ignite. Combustion is never that far away.
Whereas butler Sheila Cannon (Edwina Findley) and social secretary Lilly Schumacher (Molly Griggs) are agitators of the highest order, but in ways that are individual to their characters and stations.
It's a farce, with so many acts of buffoonery spewing through the cracks of the pristine White House. But if it were just about comedy, The Residence wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable as it is.
What the Shondaland team always gets right is the depths of its characters. It's the ability to imbue them with layers, inviting you to connect with them and the relationships that they form with each other.
The introduction of episode four takes time away from the case to give you further insight into Cordelia Cupp, which works really well. And while we don't get extended moments like this with all of the characters, depth is still interwoven into their scenes in a way that doesn't detract from the madness of the piece.
There's even room for a sweet and pure romance, complete with stakes.
The narrative also unfolds in a really interesting way, and keeps The Residence pacy.
While Cordelia Cupp's investigation is a large chunk of the show, The Residence is anchored by the present day court proceedings investigating A.B. Wynters' death.
Eliza Coupe gets to shine as Senator of Colorado Margery Bay Bix. Her hunger for the truth and pursuit of justice barely masks the way she salivates over the puzzle of this murder mystery – she is us, we are her.
This jumping across timelines feels intentionally chaotic, as if to add to the fevered energy of the events taking place.
Like Cordelia, everything is methodical but yet not sequential – keeping you guessing. The Residence is a real whodunnit, that will have you engrossed from the word go if you can lean into that chaos.
All eight episodes of The Residence are available to stream now on Netflix.
TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
