Murder comes to the White House in 'The Residence'

Uzo Aduba in The Residence.

Jessica Brooks / Netflix

In the new Netflix series The Residence, a dead body shows up in an awkward location: the White House. A sprawling list of suspects try to outsmart a brilliant detective played by Uzo Aduba. She's joined by a cast that includes Giancarlo Esposito, Ken Marino, Randall Park, Kylie Minogue, and many others.

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

LINDA HOLMES: In the new Netflix series The Residence, a dead body shows up in an awkward location-- the White House. A comedic whodunit follows, in which a sprawling cast tries to outsmart a brilliant detective.

AISHA HARRIS: That detective is played by Uzo Aduba, and she's joined by a cast that includes Giancarlo Esposito, Ken Marino, Randall Park, Kylie Minogue-- yes, Kylie Minogue-- and many-- we do mean many-- others. I'm Aisha Harris.

HOLMES: And I'm Linda Holmes. And today, we're talking about The Residence on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

HOLMES: Joining us today is NPR's TV critic Eric Deggans. Hello, Eric.

ERIC DEGGANS: What's up?

HOLMES: It's always good to have you here. The Residence tells the story of AB Wynter, played by Giancarlo Esposito, the chief usher of the White House. On the night of a state dinner honoring Australia, he's found dead of what first appears to be suicide. But before long, Detective Cordelia Cupp arrives on the scene and begins to investigate. She's played by Uzo Aduba.

[AUDIO PLAYBACK]

CORDELIA: How did he kill himself?

SPEAKER 1: What do you mean? He slit his wrists!

CORDELIA: With what?

SPEAKER 1: What?

CORDELIA: With what?

EDWIN: There's no knife.

CORDELIA: Say it so they can hear you in the [INAUDIBLE].

EDWIN: There's no knife.

CORDELIA: There's no knife.

[END PLAYBACK]

HOLMES: [CHUCKLES] There are, of course, many suspects, including other members of the White House staff, the president's lazy mooching brother, the president's closest advisor, and even, briefly, Kylie Minogue, who appears as herself. Cordelia gets help from an FBI agent played by Randall Park-- you heard him in that clip-- who is constantly befuddled by her process, as well as from the DC police chief, played by Isiah Whitlock, Jr. We wouldn't dream of spoiling the solution, obviously, but there is one, and they'll eventually tell it to you because that's what a detective in a whodunit promises. The Residence is streaming on Netflix now. Aisha, I'm going to start with you. What did you think of The Residence?

HARRIS: Well, I love detective stories. I love a great murder mystery. And--

HOLMES: Same, same.

HARRIS: --like, since Knives Out, we've had quite a few of these proliferating, both in film and TV, many of varying quality, most of them focused on, like, the very, very rich, the 1%. And that's been kind of my thing, is like, I'm getting a little tired of seeing stories that are just about, like, rich people. Give me a murder mystery that doesn't focus on that. And this, while being set at the White House and obviously involving people with immense amounts of wealth, is really focused more on the downstairs of the upstairs-downstairs aspect. And that's what I love about it. We get to learn about who each of these characters are, from the butlers to the chefs, the people who are just like-- their only job is to make sure that the mother-in-law of the president's husband is OK. Like, it's all these things. And I love how we get to learn about them over the course of these episodes. I also love how good Uzo Aduba is in this. Oh, my goodness. She is nerdy, confident, dressed like a chic Sherlock Holmes, minus the pipe and a hat. And she loves birds. There are so many birds.

[AUDIO PLAYBACK]

CORDELIA: You know the amazing thing about birds? Birds have the ability to focus. It's not that they're just good at hunting for food. They literally filter out things that are not food. You know who doesn't have that ability? All of you.

[END PLAYBACK]

HARRIS: I really, really enjoyed this for the most part. And I'm excited to hear Eric's and your thoughts as well.

HOLMES: Yeah. For the reasons that you mentioned, it's such a smart place to set a whodunit because you do have all of those people who have so many highly specific jobs. And the White House is a place that obviously has a room for everything. And so, of course, any whodunit needs lots of rooms that people can slink in and out of.

HARRIS: And candlesticks. [LAUGHS]

HOLMES: Absolutely. Eric, what did you think?

DEGGANS: "Chic Sherlock Holmes"-- can you say that, like, five times fast?

HOLMES: Uh-huh.

DEGGANS: Well, of course, this reminded me of TV's greatest detective, Columbo.

HOLMES: Mm-hmm.

DEGGANS: Peter Falk's voice was in my head. "Excuse me. I got one more thing I want to ask you, Mr. President."

HOLMES: Yep.

DEGGANS: You know, we've seen TV try to take a lot of swings at reinventing that kind of character, you know, Elsbeth and Matlock. And I think this is the best version of that in that we have a quirky, brilliant detective who is often underestimated by the people that she's interacting with. Now, she doesn't present any sort of facade to encourage them to underestimate her. She is just herself. And after a while, her brilliance is apparent. But she's still underestimated, particularly by the powerbrokers in the White House. And to see her constantly upending them and just being herself and just being like, I'm smarter than you, you know I'm smarter than you, so just admit it already--

HOLMES: Mm-hmm, yep.

[LAUGHTER]

DEGGANS: --is just a wonderful thing to bask in.

HOLMES: And I think the fact that they introduce her as an avid birder gives you another context for her attention to detail, as well as her patience. People who look for birds that they really want to see, that requires some patience. You have to wait for them to come to you. You have to figure out the right place to be at the right time. I think it's so smart to make her a birder. I agree with everything you said, Eric, and I would add Poker Face as another television effort to kind of recapture that Columbo magic. And one of the things that I like about this, that I also like about Poker Face, is it really embraces its indebtedness to this entire genre of whodunits. All of the episode titles are titles of either detective stories or detective movies. There is an episode called "Knives Out." There is an episode called "The Last of Sheila," which is the wonderful film that Rian Johnson has talked about being inspired by when he made, particularly, Glass Onion. So I think that it's so lovely that they really just embrace being part of this tradition. It's not a kind of a "throw everything out, reinvent the wheel." You know, ooh, what if it was a detective story, but they never told you what happened-- which is like the kind of thing that you sometimes get.

HARRIS: Yeah.

HOLMES: They're not trying to subvert the genre. They're just trying to work really, really well in the genre. And honestly, this is a Shondaland project. This is Shonda Rhimes' shop, now working at Netflix. There has been some, I think, unevenness in the product that has come out of her company, as there is with all companies. But one of the things that's always been true about Shondaland is that they embrace making television that works as television. It's one of the reasons Bridgerton works well. So you get a show here that is a TV show. The episodes have a shape. I just think ultimately, it works really, really well.

DEGGANS: And I thought, what a wonderful way to give us a scripted series about the people who work behind the scenes in the White House. And it doesn't have to be some, you know, version of The West Wing, where people are running down corridors to deliver, you know, peeled shrimp [LAUGHS] for state dinners. But we do get a poignant and dramatic and super funny and super absurd look at these people who, you know, as one character says, we're always here. You know, they change, and we're always here. And on top of it all, just the actors they got for this, you know, starting with Giancarlo, you know, and Susan Kelechi Watson and Uzo, of course, and Randall Park, of course, and Isiah Whitlock, you know, and-- you know, I'm remembering his character from The Wire, and I can't say his signature--

HOLMES: No.

DEGGANS: --catchphrase because that would get us in trouble. But it was in my head every time he was on screen.

HOLMES: Of course.

DEGGANS: And so, you know, it was just a wonderful collection of performers.

HARRIS: Yeah.

HOLMES: It's almost like a lot of the people in this show feel like you would have gone for this actor type in this part, but they just got that actual actor. Jane Curtin, as Aisha mentioned, the president's mother-in-law, who is kind of up in her room drinking vodka all the time, you get Jane Curtin for that because you need a Jane Curtin type. So they just got Jane Curtin. I think it's the same thing with Randall Park, who has played sort of very well-meaning-- I don't know how to describe it, but he plays these lovely, kind, frustrated dudes all the time. And he's so good in this.

[AUDIO PLAYBACK]

EDWIN: You know it doesn't have to be this way between you and me?

CORDELIA: How would you like it to be?

EDWIN: More respectful.

CORDELIA: You want me to respect you? For what? I don't know you.

EDWIN: I don't know you either, but I respect you.

CORDELIA: That's different.

EDWIN: Why?

CORDELIA: Because I'm Cordelia Cupp.

[END PLAYBACK]

HOLMES: And, you know, I think Ken Marino is somebody who has done so many different kinds of things. And there are times for me when a little Ken Marino goes a long way.

HARRIS: Yeah.

HOLMES: But I felt in this, like, they found a really good slot for him to be in, where, partly because the cast is so big, that most of those people, you don't get all that much of them at the same time. And we haven't even talked yet about the fact that there's this whole other sequence going on at the same time, which is that you're getting glimpses of these congressional hearings that happen much, much later, looking back on the investigation and how the investigation went, where the Congress people are Al Franken and Eliza Coupe. And Eliza Coupe is always funny. And listen, Al Franken obviously is drawing on some experience.

HARRIS: Mm-hmm. [CHUCKLES]

HOLMES: So I think Eric's exactly right. The casting of this, I think, is just so sharp and so smart. And it all starts with Uzo Aduba, who I think is just-- mm-mm-mm-- so fun to watch in this.

HARRIS: Yeah. Well, to the point about casting, it's interesting because the final episode is dedicated to the memory of Andre Braugher, who I hadn't realized until after seeing that on the screen. And I looked it up. He was originally supposed to play the Giancarlo Esposito role. And they are two very different kind of actors who are also able to access what I think that character needed. That character--

HOLMES: Yes.

HARRIS: --I mean, we were seeing him pretty much always in flashback because he's the one who's murdered. He is also--

DEGGANS: Spoiler alert.

HARRIS: Yes, spoiler.

HOLMES: Yeah.

HARRIS: But it's interesting to watch because, like, when I think about the way both of them have been able to draw in their characters, like a sort of steeliness or a sort of, like, composure that someone who is overseeing this entire staff has to have-- but then they also, like, can both play comedy in different ways. It's just--

HOLMES: Yes.

HARRIS: --I couldn't help but think like, would this have looked totally different had it been played by Andre Braugher? And yes, but also no. And I don't think that's a slight on either of them. I think it's just like, they are two very different people. I would have loved to see Andre Braugher play this. Unfortunately, he passed away. And I think that speaks to the fact that, like, these characters are so interestingly drawn. I have to say that, like, I think that the smaller, minor characters, including, quote unquote, "Hugh Jackman," who is never-- it's not actually Hugh Jackman, but he's just kind of in the background.

DEGGANS: He's like the one star they didn't get.

HARRIS: Yeah. But it's fun, just, like, to layer on the additional, like, this is a state dinner for Australia. So it's like, we have, like, Australia jokes.

HOLMES: Yes.

DEGGANS: I do also want to shout out the effortless diversity of the cast.

HOLMES: For sure.

DEGGANS: Because we're in a moment where people are being discouraged from talking about stuff like that, and I am not going to be discouraged.

HARRIS: No. Yes, yes, yes.

DEGGANS: So I love the fact that Uzo is playing a Black woman. I love the fact that Giancarlo is playing a Black, you know, head usher, that Susan Kelechi Watson is his number two, who's also a Black woman. We have a gay couple in the White House. Randall Park is in there. They have the delightful moments with these young Black kids, you know, two different wonderful moments. I just love seeing the level of diversity and how effortless it is and how these characters are not tied to their identities in that way, you know?

HARRIS: Yeah.

DEGGANS: They're just people in these roles.

HARRIS: Also, Edwina Findley as Sheila, one of the butlers, great character.

HOLMES: Oh, my gosh.

DEGGANS: Oh, my god.

HARRIS: The constantly tipsy butler. [LAUGHS]

DEGGANS: Yes, yes, yes.

HOLMES: Yeah.

DEGGANS: She's so amazing.

HARRIS: Just, the way she just divulges information-- so real. So real. I love it.

HOLMES: Yeah. We should probably also shout out the actual creator and showrunner, Paul William Davies, who came to this after working on Scandal and some other shows. And I think the effortless diversity that Eric's talking about is very common, if not absolutely expected for the stuff that comes out of Shonda Rhimes' shop. So I agree with Eric 100%.

HARRIS: I am curious, like, what you guys thought about the fact that this is a White House whodunit. But the politics, I think are kind of sparsed in, in interesting ways, especially towards the end. Like, the final episode kind of digs into the politics in a way that I was not expecting it to. This isn't like Scandal, right? Like, it's not like-- it's not layered on top. But I'm curious what you guys thought about how the politics sort of show up here.

DEGGANS: What I thought was interesting about it was that they don't identify parties, as far as I remember. And it's not easy to sort of distinguish which kind of party is which side in this.

HARRIS: Right.

DEGGANS: You know, we, you know, Linda talked about Zero Day--

HARRIS: Ugh.

DEGGANS: --and really dinged that show for not having the courage to just be explicit about relating it, connecting it to modern-- the modern politics. But I think here, it works.

HARRIS: Yeah.

DEGGANS: You're also in this sort of world where a gay couple can be in the White House, which is, you know, also pretty awesome. So I kind of enjoyed it, actually. I enjoyed being in a place where the politics could be more inventive because of the kind of story that they were telling.

HOLMES: The reason I think they can get away with it here much better than in Zero Day is partly it's because it's a comedy-- that helps. But also, you're not really focused on the doing of official acts in this particular thing. It's much less about, you know, the president is signing this bill or taking this action or whatever. And what becomes kind of ridiculous in Zero Day is you have people who are taking political positions and doing things, but they're sort of being cast in a way where they don't want you to be able to figure out what party anybody is from. And that, I think, is where that can't work. Here, I think if you're just talking about what it's like to live in the White House, a lot of that can be the same, no matter who you are. And Aisha, I think what you were talking about with the politics that come up in the final episode is a different kind of politics, right? It's not a partisan politics. It's more a discussion. There does turn out to be in the finale-- and I think I can say this without, you know, any kind of spoiling. You're basically getting a discussion of civic virtue in the finale. You're getting a more general look at what it means to take the responsibilities of the presidency and the White House seriously. And, you know, that is something that you can, I think, get away with without getting into what specific political positions-- what we think of as political positions in terms of partisanship. Is there no relevance of that to current politics? No. But can you get away with it a lot more easily? I would say yes. So it didn't really bother me. And that's why I liked the ending that they chose, is that it opened that conversation, although-- and I want to know what you guys thought about this-- really, my one beef with this show, which I very, very much enjoyed, is that the rest of the episodes are roughly that, like, Netflix hour, which is like, you know, 45 minutes-ish. The finale is an hour and a half.

HARRIS: Yeah, it's--

HOLMES: And--

HARRIS: --too long.

HOLMES: It's too long. And, like, look--

DEGGANS: Too long.

HOLMES: --obviously you can think of it as like, it's a two-parter. It's a double episode. It doesn't play like that. It plays like one episode that is too long.

HARRIS: Yeah, that's when its mechanisms as, like, a meta commentary, slash, like we want to sort of revitalize the genre, I think, gets a little too far up its own butt. It's like, it gets a little too dragged out. And I understand-- like, look, Uzo Aduba, she can hold your attention. After a certain time, I was like, oh, my god, just, like, there were multiple fake outs or, like, multiple twists and turns. I liked the conclusion. I agree with you, Linda. Like, overall, I think it was a satisfying ending. Just the time it took to get there was, like, so circuitous in ways that I didn't think needed to happen. To me, the show is really about the interpersonal politics of the people who work to make sure that this ship is smooth and running smoothly. Like, there are hierarchies. There's gossiping. There's even a hint of, like, how different people feel about the different administrations that come in because they've been there. As you said, Linda, someone at one point is like, we're always here. And it's like, the administration changes, but we don't change. At least, that's how it used to work, right? I don't know if that's how it works presently.

DEGGANS: And, you know, one of the things that's also kind of interesting, at least for me, when I'm watching a TV show, and part of the TV show is the answer to a puzzle, then I get so focused on getting to the answer that it does make it hard to sit through all the stuff that comes before it. Not only was the episode probably too long, just period, I think it was too long for an episode that's supposed to tell us who killed this guy because we are just spending so much time, like, what's the answer? What's the answer? What's the answer? You can tell when you watch the episode that they're playing with that, that they know the audience is feeling that way, and they're playing with it. But I think ultimately, that didn't quite work because you're just like, OK, tell me the answer now.

HOLMES: The thing is, in every piece like this, in every movie like this, in every book like this, in every show like this, you're going to get the wind-down, where the detective sits everybody down and says, I'm now going to explain how I figured it out, and I'm going to reveal who did it, or in Columbo's case, how they did it and how I caught them and all that stuff. And I think the issue is, it can only be so long. And I think what happened here is essentially that entire last episode is mostly Cordelia walking people through how she put together all the evidence of what happened. Now, listen, after I watched that finale, I went back and watched the first episode, and I was very impressed, seeing the way that they were laying in things that did not seem that important that would seem important later, that in the end, it makes sense. I think they play fair. And so I think they did it the right way. But yeah, it's-- oh, it's too long. But with that said, very much enjoyed this. I think it's really fun. I agree with basically everything that Eric and Aisha have said, both the quality of it and the modest quibbles. So treat yourself to a true whodunit. We want to know what you think about The Residence. Find us at facebook.com/pchh. That brings us to the end of our show. Eric Deggans, Aisha Harris, this was a lot of fun. Thank you so much for being here.

DEGGANS: So much fun. Thank you.

HARRIS: Thank you.

HOLMES: This episode was produced by Mike Katzif and Lennon Sherburne and edited by Jessica Reedy. Hello Come In provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. I'm Linda Holmes, and we'll see you all next time.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.