Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s murder mystery comedy series, ‘The Residence,’ takes place inside the White House. Set during a State Dinner, the series focuses on the events following the death of the Chief Usher of the White House, A. B. Wynter. The victim, the crime scene, and the circumstances surrounding the murder make it an extremely high-stakes situation, which is why the best of the best is brought on board to solve it. Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) has made a name for herself as the best detective in the world, and those who doubt her start to change their views the moment she takes the lead on the case. With 157 suspects spread across 132 rooms, Cordelia has the task cut out for her, but there is no case she cannot solve. Created by Paul William Davies, ‘The Residence’ is a fun, witty series with a very interesting origin.
The Residence is Fictional But Inspired by Real Residents of the White House
The plot and characters of ‘The Residence’ are made up but have real origins. The series is loosely inspired by Kate Andersen Brower’s non-fiction book called ‘The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House.’ It features interviews with the non-political staff (the ushers, maids, kitchen staff, and engineers, to name a few) of the White House, detailing their importance in keeping the place up and running through all sorts of challenges. The book came across Paul William Davies’s desk around 2020. By this time, Netflix had already optioned it and was looking to make something based on its content. Davies was given free rein to develop a unique idea that could tap into the book’s potential.
Having read the book, the writer did his own research on the White House staff, which brought him to a C-Span video of the Chief Usher in the 1990s. The man sat in the Congressional hearing, where he was asked about his responsibilities and the workings of the staff on the third floor. As he talked about the various rooms, Davies got the idea of putting together a puzzle where each room and each character would serve as a part of a bigger narrative, which would only be revealed at the end. He decided to borrow the procedural stuff in the book to authentically portray the staff in the TV show. But at the same time, he brought his own flavor to the story by throwing in a murder mystery and a highly intriguing detective.
Right from the start, Davies wanted to focus on the residents of the White House. Specifically, he wanted to focus on the nature of performance where the people had to be something in front of their employers and their guests, while they were something else once they were on their own. He was also fascinated by the idea of a locked-room murder mystery, which allowed him to limit the scope to the White House, giving more space for the myriad of characters to develop and reveal their true nature and intentions over time. He borrowed heavily from old murder mystery novels and films, with each episode getting its title from a classic. Another interesting addition to the story was the Australian delegation, as Davies didn’t want to feature a typical adversary of the US and preferred to explore the tension that bordered on fun. With all this, he created an engaging narrative with a firm foot in reality.
Cordelia Cupp is an Homage to Classic Detectives in Fiction
Being a fan of the whodunit genre, Paul William Davies knew that he couldn’t make the show work without having a compelling detective. His inspirations included Sherlock Holmes (receiving a nod in Cordelia Cupp’s tweed costume), Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, and Benoit Blanc, but he didn’t intentionally set out to write someone along the same lines. However, once he started to write the story, Cordelia Cupp emerged as the pivotal character through whom the entire investigation unfolds, and the character basically wrote itself.
One thing that Davies leaned into was Cordelia’s hobby of birding. The writer’s stepfather was an avid birder, and he had spent his childhood seeing a birder’s passion in action. He also talked with a birder to understand the thought process of birds while writing the series. When he gave the same thing to Cordelia, he also noted bringing the skills required to be a birder into her job as a detective. This is why she takes a grander view of a person or place before leaning into the details. This also informs her observation and listening skills, and most importantly, her patience to let things come to her rather than toiling her way towards them.
Birding was also something that Uzo Aduba took up as research to understand her character. She found Cordelia to be entirely unaffected by any form of intimidation by the place or the people around her. She leaned into the detective’s oddness to bring out her distinctive personality that allows her to see things differently than others. The actress also focused on things like not showing any emotions (which is an important part of the character that remains emotionally detached for most of the story), lowering the pitch of her voice, and speaking very quickly. All these quirks helped her sculpt the character into someone who is eccentric, lovable, and a detective that anyone would want on their case.
Read More: Best Murder Mysteries on Hulu
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