The Unfettered Critic – May 2025

WHO DOESN’T LOVE a “cozy?”

Cozies, as mystery lovers know, involve crime-solving in a charming setting (like a historic mansion), with minimal graphic violence (so the initial crime likely happens “off-stage”). Agatha Christie, among many others, deservedly became famous for her cozies. They make great reads on a cold, rainy night. And they offer perfect fodder for many a motion picture and television series.

Enter Shonda Lynn Rhimes, the multi-talented producer/writer/creator and/or power behind many of the most popular television series you’ve watched over the past twenty years. As the founder of global media company Shondaland, Rhimes executive produced Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Bridgerton, and Queen Charlotte. Plus a whole bunch of other stuff.

Shondaland’s newest treat is The Residence, an eight-episode modern-day cozy mystery (with more than a modicum of laugh-out-loud humor) set in the living quarters of our very own Washington D.C. White House. (Spoiler alert: The show’s dramatis personae does not include current residents of the real-life Residence.)

The series was written by showrunner Paul William Davies, the talent also responsible for dozens of episodes of Scandal. Davies developed his story while reading journalist Kate Anderson Brower’s 2015 nonfiction “behind-the-scenes” book, The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House.

The Residence follows the investigative antics of Detective Cordelia Cupp (played perfectly by the wonderful Uzo Aduba, of Orange is the New Black and the acclaimed miniseries Painkiller). Cordelia has been recruited to solve a shocking murder committed during an elaborate soiree on the evening of the Australian State Dinner. Through her eyes we meet an array of surprisingly varied suspects—a full baker’s dozen—each appearing guilty at first (and second), (and third) glance. And then she tells us why, parrying each person’s potential alibi: “She was in the kitchen shtupping the Australian ambassador,” and “He was in the upstairs bathroom unplugging the toilet,” and “She was drunk as a skunk under the table”—with a factoid that only she found relevant!

Yes, Cordelia Cupp is the detective for a reason, and she doesn’t share her theories until Episode 8. She—and this production—is just too darned clever!

By the final episode, you’ll be primed for the traditional cozy-inspired denouement: the gathering of nervous suspects within a large room, as Detective Cupp evaluates her suspects’ likely motives and proximity to the crime. When at last she points to the most (or least) (or sort of forgotten about) suspected person in the room and pronounces him/her, “The Murderer,” you’ll find that you’d guessed wrong. As did we.

By the way: Before you dare to utter the old saw, “The butler did it,” keep in mind that—the butler is the murder victim!

We enjoyed this series so much that we zipped through all the episodes in three days. The cast is flawless, from the murder victim played by Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), to Aussie singer Kylie Minogue (as Kylie Minogue), to familiar television faves Jane Curtin (Saturday Night Live) and Bronson Pinchot (Perfect Strangers). And the sets—reportedly inspired by an actual 1970s-made White House dollhouse—are fabulously detailed, constructed on seven soundstages within Hollywood’s historic Raleigh Studios.

The Residence currently is streaming on Netflix, ranking near the top of the platform’s Global Top Ten shows. But a warning: As you watch, don’t even try to count the references to Hugh Jackman (who, curiously, does not appear. Not even once).