Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner
Main Cast: Uzo Aduba, Giancarlo Esposito
Creator: Paul William Davies
I am addicted to comfort content. Shows like Ted Lasso and A Man on the Inside are the perfect antidote to what seems like a never-ending supply of stressful days. So I’m always excited to find something new that fits the requirements: entertaining, great characters, great performances, both funny and serious, and most importantly, set in a world that isn’t quite real. Thanks to Netflix and The Residence, there’s a new show in my comfort content corral.
The Residence stars Uzo Aduba as Cordellia Cupp. Cordelia is a detective called in by the Washington, DC, police to consult on a high-profile case: someone has been murdered at the White House during a state dinner.
Cordelia is a little eccentric. She loves bird-watching and notices things that others miss. She’s the very best there is, and she knows it. She has her own methods that she might explain, but probably not. Accompanying her on this case are Larry Dokes (Isaiah Whitlock, Jr) and Edwin Park (Randall Park). They are Chief of Police and FBI babysitter, in that order.
As Cordelia investigates (during said state dinner) she meets various members of the enormous White House staff as well as members of the administration and the evening’s guests. Everyone is a suspect.
The series flips back and forth between the investigation on the night of the murder and the inevitable Congressional hearings taking place later.
At first glance, The Residence might look like anything but comfort content. After all, we watch TV to forget about Washington, DC. But this is not the real White House, and the residents bear absolutely no resemblance to administrations past or present. This is a pretend version that uses the traditions and the building to create something enchanting and new. The matter at hand is very serious, the adherence to reality is decidedly not.
Instead, we get the absolutely delightful Cordelia Cupp and the strange and wonderful characters that live and work in this White House. This case is all about personalities, and they appear, one after another, with motives and alibis and other assorted shenanigans.
Cordelia is written much like an Aaron Sorkin character, minus the pompous, preachy arrogance. The banter is fast-paced and witty while keeping our attention with its keen attention to detail and multiple twists throughout the eight episodes. I fell in love with Uzo Aduba in the first five minutes of episode one and she did not let me down. Her Cordelia Cupp is smart and focused and straight-up fantastic in every way.
Writer/Creator Paul William Davies slows the pace down in several episodes to give us a look inside this character and it pays off exponentially. Everything we see and learn adds another layer to her whimsy and wisdom.
The rest of the star-studded cast does an excellent job of supporting their main character. Each has their moments, but none dulls Cordelia’s shine. Special props go to Randall Park for being Aduba’s straight man and Al Franken for embodying the deeply unserious Congressional hearings. There are many more, but I don’t want to spoil any of them for you.
The Residence was inspired by the bestselling non-fiction book about the staff of the White House, The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House, by Kate Anderson Brower. I didn’t know what to expect from the series. I did not expect to be so thoroughly delighted with every episode. The showrunners took the series far from its source material and created a main character that I would love to see continue her escapades.
Images courtesy of Netflix
Sue reads a lot, writes a lot, edits a lot, and loves a good craft. She was deemed “too picky” to proofread her children’s school papers and wears this as a badge of honor. She is also proud of her aggressively average knitting skills She is the Editorial Director at Silver Beacon Marketing and an aspiring Crazy Cat Lady.
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