One of TV’s most prolific producers, Shonda Rhimes, is back at the White House, but this time without “Scandal” and Olivia Pope. That doesn’t mean the drama has stopped. It’s just wrapped in a lot of wit and humor.
There’s been a murder at the White House and eccentric detective Cordelia Cupp is on the job to figure out whodunit in the eight-episode Netflix series “The Residence,” starring three-time Emmy winner Uzo Aduba.
Cordelia Cupp arrives at the White House tasked with solving whether chief usher A.B. Wynter (an impactful Giancarlo Esposito who stepped in for the late Andre Braugher) killed himself or was murdered during a state dinner. The investigation reveals the intricate inner workings of the White House from its head chef to its janitors.
Aduba told NBC News that she appreciated her character’s sharp mind.
“I love her precision,” she said during the 2025 SCAD TV Festival in Atlanta. “I love how she doesn’t miss a beat. She’s really exacting with her words. I think she’s just smart. She sees every detail in the room and is able to put together all the necessary pieces to solve the case.”
Cupp incorporates another passion into her detective work: “She’s a bird-watcher,” Aduba said. “She brings all of herself, including bird-watching, to her cases,” she added. Throughout the series, the ace detective is rarely caught without her binoculars and is prone to bird-watching as she interrogates.
Uzo Aduba as Cordelia Cupp in “The Residence.”Jessica Brooks
The cast of actors includes “This Is Us” star Susan Kelechi Watson as Jasmine, who had dreamed of replacing A.B. Wynter. “Saturday Night Live” alum Jane Curtain plays the president’s mother-in-law, while Bronson Pinchot, from the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise, is Chef Didier Gothard. Randall Park, from “Fresh Off the Boat,” plays skeptical FBI agent Edwin Park working alongside Cupp to solve the mystery.
“The Wire” alumni Edwina Findley and Isiah Whitlock, Jr., play boozy White House butler/server and Metropolitan Police Department chief respectively. Comedian and former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken plays a senator leading an investigation into security failings at the White House. Even pop star Kylie Minogue is in the mix.
Aduba said Cupp’s ability to sift through more than 150 murder suspects and a string of confusing clues comes naturally to her character.
“She has absolute confidence in herself and her abilities, and will not allow anyone’s idea of who she is or what she can do be the dominating factor in defining who she is,” she said.
Being the best at what she does, however, is not what motivates Cordelia Cupp.
“I think Cordelia is definitely driven by the truth,” Aduba said in a Zoom interview. “She wants to get the answer. She wants to get to the root. So she’ll do whatever needs to be done to chase that down. And she loves, once she has done that, having everything explained in some way. That helps to make the world make sense.”
Aduba said taking on the lead for “The Residence” was a fulfilling job, especially under Rhimes’ “warm and supportive” Shondaland banner.
“You can feel that from Shonda herself,” Aduba said. “She does the good work, also.” She added that Rhimes buoys everybody up. “I know it is not by accident that they have found that success, because they operate with discipline and their modus operandi is one of excellence that continually sets the bar for the industry.”
Ronda Racha Penrice
