What is The Residence series based on? Details explored

The mystery comedy-drama series The Residence premiered on March 20, 2025, exclusively on Netflix. The series was inspired by Kate Andersen Brower's nonfiction book, titled The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House. The showrunners created a murder mystery drama using the details from the book.

In the mini-TV series, detective Cordelia Cupp and FBI special agent Edwin Park find a whodunit mystery at their hands as a state dinner goes disastrously wrong.

The Residence is led by actor Uzo Aduba, who plays the role of Detective Cordelia Cupp. Each episode has a runtime of above 50 minutes, and all eight episodes of the mini-series are available on Netflix for viewers to watch.

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The book behind The Residence and all we know about the mini-series

This snippet is from an episode of The Residence (Image via Netflix)

The Residence is a Netflix original series created by Paul William Davies. The murder mystery mini-series takes inspiration from Kate Andersen Brower's 2015 nonfiction book, titled The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House. The book contains interviews of over 50 then-White House staff members, who served through multiple presidential administrations.

Paul William Davies repurposed the information from the interviews in the book to create a murder mystery inside the White House. The observations from chefs, maids, butlers, and others are used to duplicate the real-life environment of the famous mansion. The book also serves as a base for how the plot is directed, since a lot of political hindrance occurs during the attempt to solve the crime.

Cordelia Cupp, the detective in charge of the investigation, is suspicious of everyone present during the state dinner. This includes not only the staff members who work within the White House, but also the political figures and social elites present that night. Cordelia conducts her investigation by interviewing all the suspects, which also enables her to understand the workings of the White House.

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What is The Residence all about

The Netflix original murder mystery follows a familiar structure to the murder mystery genre with a crime, a number of suspects, and an unexpected killer. It stands out by setting the tale in a historically significant location filled with conventional formality and unsaid rules.

The story follows a state dinner organized at the White House where political figures, social elites, and staff members all come together under one roof. As the dinner takes place with its powerful and elite list of guests, a murder takes place at the White House. The eccentric detective considers all 157 people present in the world's most secure mansion as suspects.

Cordelia navigates a complex social environment as almost every guest is trying to protect something, whether it is a staff member or a politician. The staff members provided an insight into how things operated on the inside. Their interviews with the detective share their perspective of daily operations, the leader pyramid, and unspoken rules within the White House.

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Cast and crew for Netflix's The Residence

The murder mystery mini-series was created by Paul William Davies, who also serves as an executive producer along with Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers. The first four episodes were directed by Liza Johnson, while Jaffar Mahmood directed the remaining four episodes.

The show is led by Uzo Aduba, who stars as the detective Cordelia Cupp. The list of cast also includes Randall Park as Edwin Park, an FBI agent, and Giancarlo Esposito as A.B. Wynter, chief usher of the White House.

Other notable cast members include Molly Griggs as Lilly Schumacher, Ken Marino as Harry Hollinger, and Susan Kelechi Watson as Jasmine Haney. Jason Lee also stars as Tripp Morgan, the president's brother.

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