4 Shows To Stream Before ‘The Residence’ Premieres On Netflix Tomorrow
Shondaland’s latest project, The Residence, is a White House murder mystery with 132 rooms, 157 suspects, and Emmy Award Winning Uzo Aduba in the lead detective role.
The production powerhouse carries the weight of its reputation and past successes, but The Residence shares much more in common with scripted dramas outside the Shondaland umbrella. Check out the titles below to get a leg up on what to expect from The Residence, which goes lives March 20th on Netflix.
Orange Is The New Black
Uzo Aduba rose to fame for her performance as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren, an inmate with an unspecified mental illness in Orange Is The New Black, Netflix’s scripted drama set in a women’s penitentiary. Following an Emmy rule change, Aduba became one of only two actresses to ever win awards in both the Comedy and Drama categories for the same role, and her ability to switch seamlessly from the deeply serious and emotional aspects of Suzanne’s experience to her character’s flawless comedic timing is something we can expect to see her flex in her role as detective Cordelia Cupp in The Residence.
Paradise
Paradise, which debuted earlier this year on Hulu, is sure to draw comparisons to The Residence due to major plot similarities. The murder victim in Paradise is the U.S. president himself, and his top secret service agent must clear his name of the crime. The victim in The Residence is the White House Chief Usher, the staff member in charge of the White House’s physical space. Where Paradise shocks viewers with a post-apocalyptic plot twist that has already earned it a renewal for a second season, The Residence draws on traditional whodunits and will be a limited series. Both shows aim to give the ultimate peek under the Presidential hood, but we can expect each will have its own take on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the people within its walls.
Downton Abbey
Promotions for The Residence describe it as the “upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs” of the White House, playing on the British genre whose most recent global success is Downton Abbey, the acclaimed period drama following the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants. The Residence trailer illustrates similar class divides in the present-day U.S. through the dress codes of the White House staff and the decor of the spaces they inhabit. The people responsible for servicing the State Dinner experience the world much differently than the invited guests, which is bound to impact the motives of the suspects.
Only Murders In The Building
Hulu’s Only Murders In The Building may prove to be a spiritual predecessor to The Residence, as both tout comedic foundations and a large scope of suspects. Neither contains the action of a Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes film or the intimate dinner party setting of an Agatha Christie novel; instead, the sleuths use their sarcasm and humor to narrow down entire buildings full of suspects to a final culprit. The Residence draws on the same quirky, cozy, bookish aesthetic that made Only Murder’s The Arconia a setting viewers wanted to return to four seasons in a row. Finally, a celebrity appearance from Kylie Minogue lends the same farce and absurdity that Sting’s memorable cameo brought to the first season of Only Murders In The Building.
