‘Only Murders in the Building’ Meets 'West Wing’ in Netflix's 8-Episode Mystery Miniseries

Published Sep 22, 2026, 8:36 AM EDT

Kendall Myers is a Senior Author with Collider. As part of the TV and Movies Features team, she writes about some of the most popular releases before, during, and after they premiere. In three years, she has written over 900 articles with topics ranging from classic sitcoms to fantasy epics.

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Comedic murder mystery series seem like an odd concept at first, but the niche genre is gaining ground. From Only Murders in the Building to The Afterparty, each series has its own twist, including the often-forgotten Netflix series, The Residence. The 2025 series combines Only Murders in the Building's quirky characters and humorous mystery with The West Wing's focus on daily life in the White House. But instead of exploring the President's senior staff, The Residence offers an upstairs-downstairs twist with a behind-the-scenes look at the White House from the kitchens to the basement.

The series isn't especially long, with only one season, and after its swift cancellation, there won't be another installment. However, in just eight episodes, it slowly unravels a mysterious death that no ordinary detective could solve. With unique characters and constant surprises, The Residence does not disappoint. This hilarious, unpredictable Netflix series is the perfect binge-watch for all fans of murder mysteries.

'The Residence' Explores a Shocking Mystery

The Residence centers on the death of White House Chief Usher A. B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito), which occurs during a state dinner honoring the Australian Prime Minister. However, the series splits its time between the investigation and the following congressional hearing held to address the incident. When the long-serving staff member is found dead, all evidence points to a suicide, and the President's Chief Advisor, Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino), is eager to have the detectives declare that to be the case and move on, but not everyone is as confident. This is when eccentric consulting detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) gets involved. Throughout the investigation, Detective Cupp doesn't follow the expected method, but she is effective.

Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Netflix Character Would Be Your Best Friend? Dustin · Emily · Wednesday · Gi-hun

Some friends drag you out of the house. Some sit with you on the worst night of your life. Netflix has written both, plus the one who tells you the truth you have been avoiding all week. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually do friendship, and find out which of them was always going to end up in your corner.

🧢Dustin(Stranger Things)

🗼Emily(Emily in Paris)

🕷️Wednesday(Wednesday)

🟢Gi-hun(Squid Game)

FIND YOUR BEST FRIEND →

01

How do you usually end up making a new friend? The origin story says a lot about the friendship that follows it.

AWe got loud about the same obsession and never stopped. BThey invited me somewhere before we had properly met. CWe bonded over disliking exactly the same thing. DThey noticed I was struggling and stayed with me.

NEXT QUESTION →

02

What is a perfect Saturday with your best friend? Friendship is mostly built out of very ordinary hours.

AA ridiculous plan neither of us should attempt. BSomewhere new, photographed heavily, ending very late. CSomewhere quiet, few people, zero small talk. DSomething simple, and a conversation that actually matters.

NEXT QUESTION →

03

You call them at two in the morning. What happens? This is the real test of a friendship, and everybody knows it.

AThey are already putting their shoes on. BThey answer instantly and turn it into a plan. CThey answer and say something unflattering and true. DThey listen for an hour and never check the time.

NEXT QUESTION →

04

What do you want from them when you are clearly wrong? The best friendships are the ones that survive being corrected.

ASupport first. We can review the mistake later. BA relentlessly positive reframe of the entire disaster. CThe blunt version. Do not soften it for me. DPatience, and no judgment about how I got here.

NEXT QUESTION →

05

What do your friends actually value about you? The friend you attract says something about the friend you are.

AI am all in, always, about everything. BI can turn almost any situation into a good time. CI say the thing nobody else in the room will. DI look after whoever is having the worst day.

NEXT QUESTION →

06

You have a falling out. How does it go? How a friendship repairs itself matters more than how it breaks.

ALoudly, briefly, then back to normal by Tuesday. BThey apologise first, enthusiastically, with a gift. CCold silence, then one dry joke that fixes everything. DWe talk until we both understand what actually happened.

NEXT QUESTION →

07

What do you actually need a best friend for? Everybody is missing something. The right friend fills that gap.

ATo make my life bigger than it would be alone. BTo push me out of the house and into my own life. CTo catch me when I start lying to myself. DTo be the person who never gave up on me.

NEXT QUESTION →

08

Ten years from now, what keeps the two of you close? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who you get.

AWe would still drop everything for each other, instantly. BWe still make plans, and we still actually go. CWe still cut through each other's nonsense in one sentence. DThey stood by me once when it cost them something.

REVEAL MY BEST FRIEND →

The Group Chat Has Spoken Your Best Friend Is…

Four Netflix characters, four completely different ways of showing up for somebody. This is the one who fits how you actually do friendship, and what having them in your life would be like.

Dustin Henderson

You do not do friendship at half volume, and neither does he. What you want is somebody who says yes to the plan before you have finished describing the plan.

• Dustin is the friend the entire show runs on: loyal past the point of sense, enthusiastic about everything, and incapable of leaving anybody behind.
• You have the same instinct. Your friendships are loud, specific and slightly ridiculous, and they last for decades because of it.
• He is also the one person who would take your strangest interest completely seriously, which is far rarer than it sounds.
• You would have a group chat. It would never once be quiet.

Emily Cooper

You are the friend who makes things happen, and so is she. Together you would be mildly exhausting to everyone around you and completely delighted with yourselves.

• Emily treats an ordinary Tuesday as something that could be turned into an occasion, which is either the best or the worst quality in a friend depending on your energy levels.
• You share her refusal to sit still. Neither of you has ever accepted a night in when something was happening somewhere else.
• She is far more loyal than people give her credit for. She defends her friends loudly, publicly, and occasionally before checking the facts.
• She would post the photo without asking. You would forgive her, because it is a very good photo.

Wednesday Addams

You have no patience for pleasant lies, and she has no ability to tell them. What looks like coldness from the outside is the most reliable friendship on this list.

• Wednesday never says a kind thing she does not mean, which makes the rare ones count for an enormous amount.
• You would rather be told the truth than be made comfortable. She is constitutionally incapable of offering you anything else.
• Underneath all of it she is ferociously protective. She simply refuses to make a performance out of caring.
• Do not expect a birthday message. Do expect her to ruin anyone who wrongs you.

Seong Gi-hun

You look after whoever is having the worst day. So does he. It is the least strategic way to move through the world and the best possible quality in a friend.

• Gi-hun is not the strongest player in Squid Game, or the cleverest. He is the one who keeps choosing to protect somebody else, over and over, at genuine cost to himself.
• You have the same instinct. You notice who is struggling and you stay with them, long after anybody would blame you for leaving.
• He is a flawed friend, and that is part of why it lands. He lets people down, then comes back and tries again, which is more than most manage.
• He would give you his last chance and never once mention that he had done it.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

Dragging the reluctant FBI Special Agent Edwin Park (Randall Park) behind her, Cupp has Wynter's second-in-command, Jasmine (Susan Kelechi Watson), guide her around the White House. Cupp quickly realizes there is much more to the story, declaring that Wynter's body has been moved and that he wears a bloody shirt that isn't his own. These oddities push her investigation forward and cast doubt on the initial theory. Cupp uncovers several strange events happening that night as she questions everyone who interacted with Wynter, from the President's family to the pastry chef. Slowly, Cupp pieces together the complicated truth, but the investigation is routinely interrupted by flash-forwards to the congressional hearing, where the characters are as invested in the story as the audience. The mystery includes shocking twists that will keep the audience guessing until the very end.

The Characters Set 'The Residence' Apart

While The Residence's mystery is its defining feature, the series works because of its characters. Cupp collects over 100 suspects from those present that night, but only a few stand out. Ranging from a temperamental chef to the President's screw-up brother, Cupp's list creates a quirky group to focus on, and that is what makes the series so hilarious. Despite the gravity of the situation, these characters constantly make the audience laugh with their antics and confessions. Yet, the suspects also amplify the mystery, adding ambiguity to the series. With reasons like Harry's desperation to wrap up the investigation, Jasmine's interest in Wynter's position, or Sheila Cannon's (Edwina Findley) drunken expectation that Wynter will fire her, each seems more guilty than the last, making the mystery difficult to solve.

Each character adds to the comedy with their desperation to cover up unrelated secrets and overdramatic reactions, but none compare to Cordelia Cupp herself. Though a renowned detective, Cupp rarely explains herself, and as she sees things others miss, her moves often confuse those around her and those in the hearing. In addition to her investigative skill, Cupp's passion for birdwatching makes her a unique hero for the series. Ultimately, The Residence isn't long, only releasing one season before Netflix cancelled the show, but it does wrap up the mystery of Wynter's death. While it is disappointing that fans will not see more of Cupp's cases, this ending turns the shocking mystery into a perfect binge-watch.

The Residence is streaming on Netflix in the U.S.