The Residence: Trailer, certificate and where to watch
An eccentric detective has to solve a White House murder in this comedic mystery
Year: 2025
Certificate: 15
The producer Shonda Rhimes always takes things up a level. She did it with Grey's Anatomy for medical shows, for political thrillers with Scandal and costume dramas with Bridgerton - now she's doing it for whodunnits with The Residence, an upstairs-downstairs murder mystery set in that grandest of American stately homes, the White House.
Our sleuth is Cordelia Cupp (Orange Is The New Black's Uzo Aduba), a consulting detective in the Sherlock Holmes mould, who arrives at the home of the US President on the night a suspicious death occurs, and while a party is in full swing. The possibility soon emerges that one of the many very important guests could be responsible, so the staff want Cupp to tread lightly - sadly for them but hilariously for us, that's not really her style.
With a strong, sprawling cast that ranges from Giancarlo Esposito as the head usher to Kylie Minogue as herself, and some neat visual touches that remind you of Cluedo, this is a fun mystery executed with style and panache. The series is inspired by a non-fiction book (The Residence: Inside The Private World Of The White House), meaning that Cupp is a new invention for this show and it was envisaged that she would go on to tackle more cases, presumably in other big residences. However, the show wasn't quite the hit it could have been and was axed after this first series. (Eight episodes)
