Shonda Rhimes struck TV gold by taking viewers inside the sexy and shocking inner workings of a fictionalized White House with Scandal. Now Shondaland is setting their sights on the unmistakable mansion once again — this time, with a twist. Prepare for The Residence this spring, a murder mystery revolving around the most disastrous (and deadly) state dinner in history, starring Uzo Aduba as wry detective Cordelia Cupp. The series will come calling on March 20. 

While creator Paul William Davies is a former Scandal writer and EP, he took inspiration from a very different place for his whodunit: the classic Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant film Charade. “The Residence is honestly a lot of things. It’s funny, it’s suspenseful, it’s clever, it’s totally farcical in places, it’s genuinely romantic in others,” Davies explains. Cordelia will be the engine for all those emotions. 

“As a murder mystery, what I think really makes it fresh and unique is Cordelia Cupp.  She’s just special,” he continues. Aduba will lead a sprawling cast that features Randall Park, Giancarlo Esposito, Susan Kelechi Watson, Jane Curtin, Jason Lee, Ken Marino, Al Mitchell, Edwina Findley, and so many more (including a pop star). 

Aduba says, “What makes Cordelia part of the catalog of Shondaland heroines is that she’s strong, she doesn’t mince words, she’s unapologetically herself.” While other characters in The Residence may think the mystery ahead is impossible to crack, Cordelia sees a puzzle worth putting together. 

“This case is unsolvable to everyone except Cordelia Cupp,” Aduba says.  

The Residence is a screwball whodunit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion. Amid all the twists and turns, detective Cordelia Cupp partners with skeptical FBI special agent Edwin Park (Randall Park) to untangle an intriguing murder mystery. 

“The Residence is a different take and spin on the house that we all know — it’s a peek inside a world that we don’t often get to see,” Aduba says. “The show begs the question, ‘Who runs the house?’ And the answer is not what we think it is.”

More than anything, Davies hopes viewers will have fun on their journey alongside Cordelia and Edwin. “It’s a word I used over and over and over in so many documents I created for this show. Often in all caps: ‘Keep it FUN,’ ” he says. “I want people to be entertained. I want them to laugh, to be engaged — to try to solve this mystery. I hope they enjoy meeting these people, and they learn something.” 

Behind The Scenes Images From ‘The Residence’ Table Read

The case is afoot on March 20, when all eight episodes of The Residence debut on Netflix. 

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