Pop Culture Happy Hour - The Residence

Episode Date: March 26, 2025

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.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

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. That detective is played by Uzo Aduba, and she's joined by a cast that includes Jean-Carlo Esposito, Ken Marino, Randalli, Randalli, Parc, Kylie Minogue, and many. We do mean many others. I'm Aisha Harris. And I'm Linda Holmes. And today we're talking about the Residence on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

Joining us today is NPR's TV critic Eric Degans. Hello, Eric. What's up? It's always good to have you here. The residence tells the story of A.B. Winter, 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 Cup, arrives on the scene and begins to investigate.

She's played by Uzo Aduba. How did he kill himself? What do you mean? He slid his wrist. With what? What? With what? There's no knife.

Say it so they can hear you in the police. There's no knife. 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 Isaiah 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 net Now, Aisha, I'm going to start with you. What did you think of the residents? Well, I love detective stories. I love a great murder mystery. And like since Knives Out, we've had quite a few of these proliferating, both in filming 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 okay. Like, it's all these things. And I love how to be. 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's so many birds. 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. I really, really enjoyed this for the most part, and I'm excited to hear Eric's and your thoughts as well. 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. And candle sticks. Absolutely. Eric, what did you think? Sheik Sherlock Holmes. Can you say that like five times fast?

Uh-huh. Well, of course, this reminded me of TV's greatest detective, Columbo. Peter Falk's voice was in my head. Excuse me, I got one more thing I want to ask you, Mr. President. You know, we've seen TV try to take a lot of swings at reinventing that kind of character, you know, Ellsbeth 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 power brokers 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. It's just a wonderful thing to bask in. 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 Pokerface is another television effort to kind of recapture that Colombo 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 Ryan Johnson has talked about being inspired by when he made, particularly glass onions. 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,

oh, 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. 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 Shonda Land project. This is Shonda Rhymes 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 Shandaland is that they embrace. race-making television that works as television. It's one of the reasons Bridgetton 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. 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, people. yield shrimp 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 Colercii Watson and in Uzo, of course, and Randall Park, of course, and Isaiah Wetlock, you know, and, you know, I'm remembering his character from The Wire, and I can't say his signature catchphrase because that would get us in trouble. But it was in my head every time he was on screen. And so, you know, it was just a wonderful collection of performers.

Yeah. It's almost like a lot of the people in this show feel like you would have gone for a 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.

You know, it doesn't have to be this way between you and me. How would you like it to be? More respectful. You want me to respect you. For what? I don't know you. I don't know you either, but I respect you. That's different. Why?

Because I'm Cordelia Cup. 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. Yeah. 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 some experience. 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 so fun to watch in this. Yeah. Well, to the point about casting, it's interesting because the final episode is dedicated to the memory of Andre Brar, who I hadn't realized until after seeing that on the screen and I looked it up. He was originally supposed to play the Jean-Carlo Esposito role. And they are two very, very. different kind of actors who are also able to access what I think that character needed. That character, I mean, we're seeing him pretty much always in flashback because he's the one who's murdered. He is also... Spoiler alert.

Yes, spoiler. Yeah. 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 steelyness or a sort of like composure that someone who is overseeing this entire staff has to have. But then they also can both play comedy in different ways. It's just, I couldn't help but think, like, would this have looked totally different had it been played by Andre Barr? 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 Barr 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 including quote unquote Hugh Jackman, who is never, it's not actually Hugh Jackman, but he's just kind of in the background. He's like the one star they didn't get. 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. Yes. I do also want to shout out the effortless diversity of the cast. For sure. 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. So I love the fact.

that Uzo's playing a black woman. I love the fact that Jean-Carlo's playing a black, you know, head usher, that Susan Coletchi Watson is his number two, is 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, they're just people in these roles. Also Edwina Findley as Sheila, one of the butlers. Great character. Oh my gosh. The constantly tipsy butler. Yes. Yes.

She's so amazing. The way she just divulges information, so real, so real. I love it. 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. 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%. I am curious, like, what you guys thought about the fact this is a White House who done it. But the politics, I think, are kind of sparsed in an 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 But I'm curious what you guys thought about how the politics sort of show up here. 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. You know, we, you know, Linda talked about zero day and really ding 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. You're also in this sort of world where a gay couple can be in the White House, which is also pretty awesome. So I kind of enjoyed it, actually. I enjoyed being in a place where the politics could be more invented because of the kind of story that they were telling. Yeah, reason I think they can get away with it here much better than in zero days. 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 it's 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 response. 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. Yeah.

The finale is an hour and a half. Yeah, it's too long. It's too long. And like, look, obviously you can think of it as like it's a two-part or it's a double episode. It doesn't play like that. It plays like one episode that is too long. Yeah. That's when it's 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 fakeouts or like multiple twists and turns. I like 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. There are hierarchies. There's 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.

Right. 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. Yeah. Not only was the episode probably too long as 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? 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, okay, tell me the answer now. The thing is in every piece like this and every movie like this and every book like this and 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 Colombo'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. 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. who done it. We want to know what you think about the residents. Find us at facebook.com slash 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. So much fun. Thank you. Thank you. This episode was produced by Mike Katzif and Lenin Sherburn 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.