Entertainment
Only ‘The Pitt’ Was Able To Top This Cancelled Netflix Mystery as Most-Streamed New Drama With 9.5B Minutes
Gone are the days of hard-boiled and world-weary detectives. Nowadays, we like them with flavor. From Benoit Blanc’s (Daniel Craig) smooth eccentricity in the Knives Out movies, to the iconic podcast trio of Only Murders in the Building, quirky detectives stormed our screens last year with a vengeance.
So, it comes as no surprise that, according to Nielson’s “Most Streamed Titles of 2025,” another oddball detective secured the runner-up spot in “Top New Streaming Original Drama of 2025.” Netflix’s The Residence garnered over 9.5 billion minutes of streaming last year, only being beaten out by the HBO Max hit show, The Pitt. Unlike the medical drama, The Residence will unfortunately not return for a second season, but the first delivers everything you would want from a feel-good whodunit.
Netflix’s ‘The Residence’ Is a Feel-Good Murder Mystery
Forget about dark alleyways, cruises, or trains. The Residence aims big and kicks off with a murder in the White House. It’s a locked-room murder, except here, there are 132 rooms and over 100 suspects, including the staff, the presidential family, and all the guests of the Australian State dinner. Detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) is called in to investigate the murder of the house’s Chief Usher, AB Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito), and she arrives with a deadpan acuity, cans of sardines, and a pair of binoculars for birdwatching. As the Secret Service, FBI, Park Rangers, and Metropolitan Police bicker amongst themselves, Cordelia puts the White House on lockdown while she combs through the clues in a timeless and extravagant whodunit.
The Residence is escapism at its most lavish, so it’s no wonder it racked up so many streaming minutes. It’s easy to get lost in the gorgeous corridors and rooms, where each character brings their own unique quirks and disarray to comb over. The show doesn’t try to be realistic in any sense, with full-bodied threats breaking out between chefs or young enterprising boys watching the house from afar. There is also a framing narrative of a court case — one that asks all the absurd questions we ask — which adds to the ridiculous intensity of the story. Anyone who hasn’t yet contributed to the show’s streaming minutes needs to jump onto Netflix and be whisked away by this feel-good mystery show.
An Endearing, Oddball Detective Leads ‘The Residence’
Amid the host of eclectic characters is the fierce and strange detective, Cordelia, who is a delight to watch. Aduba strikes gold with her expressionless delivery, which comically contrasts the intensity with which her character partakes in birdwatching. But her best work is during her silence, where Cordelia often masks her face into blankness while she interviews suspects and witnesses, her mere voicelessness cajoling interviewees into revealing startling secrets. In addition to Cordelia’s personal idiosyncrasies, Aduba masters the other obligatory traits in a lead detective — including a blatant disregard for authority and formalities — as well as a flair for the dramatic, most deliciously served in that grand finale reveal.
There are an absurd number of characters in The Residence and each is memorable in their own bizarre ways. From the reformed party boy that is the President’s brother (Jason Lee) to Australian icons like Kylie Minogue (who makes a fun cameo) and Hugh Jackman (who is definitely in the show), there are ample suspects and rivalries to sink our teeth into. One of the most unexpectedly fun pairings is Cordelia and FBI agent Edwin (Randall Park), where the latter suffers the end of Cordelia’s sharp-witted, comedically-timed quips very frequently. With an extensive collection of personalities, one can never be bored watching the debacle at the White House unfold.
Netflix Cancelled ‘The Residence’ After a Successful First Season
While boasting the runner-up most-viewed title, The Residence also achieved an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Aduba was even nominated for an Emmy. However, its acclaim did not save itself from getting the axe by Netflix. It wasn’t necessarily the quality that was the issue. The original plan was to create an anthology series, where each season revolved around a new location and murder, with the birdwatching Cordelia at the helm. Now, consider the fact that the first season was set in a near-perfect replica of the White House, so constructing a new set for each season would become overly expensive. Netflix hasn’t officially announced any reason behind the show’s cancellation, but The Hollywood Reporter theorizes that it is this cost-benefit analysis that likely contributed to it, which makes sense.
Don’t let a lack of a second season dissuade you from watching The Residence, since the first is an insulated romp with a stunning and hilarious mystery. Cordelia Cupp is a detective you need to put on your radar, with all her quick birdwatching pit-stops and appetite for odorous canned fish making for a delightfully weird experience.