Several years ago, TV powerhouse Shonda Rhimes left her original home at ABC behind and signed a major development deal with Netflix, marking a new era for the creator of shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal.” Arguably, “Bridgerton” has been her biggest credit on the streamer yet — though it was created by Rhimes acolyte Chris Van Dusen, she does serve as an executive producer — but now, a new series by Paul William Davies with Rhimes’ name attached as an executive producer is making waves on Netflix in its own right.
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“The Residence” is a madcap, high-octane, and very funny murder mystery conceived by Davies and centers around a murder at the White House during a state dinner honoring Australia; when the Chief Usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) is found dead in the game room, everyone is trapped inside of the presidential residence until the culprit is caught. That’s where Uzo Aduba’s brilliant Cordelia Cupp comes into play; like Benoit Blanc in “Knives Out” (another Netflix icon who’s mentioned by name in a passing reference), Cordelia is capable of solving crimes nobody else can crack, and she’s on the case as she tries to figure out which member of the enormous White House Staff had reason and motive to take down Mr. Wynter. (The first season is, touchingly, dedicated to the memory of Andre Braugher, who was originally set to play Wynter but passed away in 2023.)
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Though it’s based on “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House” by Kate Andersen Brower, the events of “The Residence” are fictional; presumably, the show’s creative team merely used Brower’s book to learn more about the inner workings of White House support staff, including and especially the ushers who keep everything running smoothly. The series is lighting up the Netflix charts according to FlixPatrol — so what do critics think?
What do critics think of the new Netflix series The Residence?
Critics really enjoyed the first season of “The Residence,” actually! On Rotten Tomatoes, the season — which premiered in full on the streamer on March 20, 2025 — earned an 82% rating as of this writing with a critical consensus that reads, “‘The Residence’ situates itself in the White House for a lighthearted murder mystery that won’t tax the brain, but Uzo Aduba’s eccentric sleuth brings a welcome level of sophistication to proceedings.” Individual critics felt pretty good about the series overall as well, with many of them also singling out Aduba, a three-time Emmy Award-winning actress who finally gets to take center stage after spending years in (mostly) supporting roles.
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“Ultimately, ‘The Residence’ is that rarity: something that’s made with great care and much talent, and yet is at heart extremely silly,” Moira McDonald wrote for the Seattle Times. At The New York Times, Margaret Lyons praised the lead performer, saying, “Aduba is superb, exuding rigid brilliance and appeal.” Judy Berman, writing for Time Magazine, expressed a similar sentiment but expanded on it: “‘The Residence’ may not be much more than an overstuffed, Shonda-fied take on the same murder mystery you’ve seen a hundred times. But Cordelia Cupp? She’s a revelation, and Netflix would be wise to realize her potential beyond this story.”
Over at Variety, Aramide Tinubu directly compared the series to the “Knives Out” films, writing, “Though the tone of ‘The Residence’ isn’t as smooth and satisfying as the Rian Johnson films, there is still much to delight in here.” Ultimately, Robert Lloyd at the Los Angeles Times made the most classic reference in his review, saying, “‘The Residence’ is essentially a blown-out version of an Agatha Christie country-house mystery set in the White House, among its many chambers, public, private and practical.”
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Will there be a second season of The Residence?
As of this writing, we don’t know for sure whether or not “The Residence” will come back for a second season, but if it’s a hit for Netflix, it probably will; with Shonda Rhimes as an executive producer and Uzo Aduba in the lead, the show may well also pick up some key nominations during the next awards season. Aduba’s offbeat, irreverent bird-watching detective Cordelia Cupp is, as critics noted, compulsively watchable (though the rest of the cast, which includes Susan Kelechi Watson, Randall Park, Ken Marino, Taran Killam, and Jane Curtin, just to name a few, all pull their weight as well), and if we use “Knives Out” as a template, the possibilities do feel endless for Cordelia.
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Maybe “The Residence” is meant to be a one-season wonder, and maybe Paul William Davies and his team will expand Cordelia’s universe and have her solve different “impossible” crimes going forward. Until we know what’s next for Cordelia, you can binge the entire first season of “The Residence” on Netflix now … and see if you can figure out who killed A.B. Wynter before the big reveal.
