Note: This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s “The Residence.”
Netflix’s “The Residence” invites its audience into a humorous yet complex murder mystery set within the White House. Created by Paul William Davies and inspired by Kate Andersen Brower’s non-fiction book “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House,” the show unveils the killer of chief usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) by the end of Episode 8. Detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) discovers that Lilly Schumacher, the President’s social secretary, played by Molly Griggs, is the murderer.
The plot thickens as several suspects, at least five of the 157 possible culprits, played a role in moving Wynter’s body from the murder scene to where Nan Cox (Jane Curtin) first encountered it, igniting the investigation.
Davies explained to TheWrap that while the show is intentionally humorous, there is a logical structure underpinning its absurdity. He emphasized the importance of internal logic throughout the narrative, noting how that played into Cordelia’s character development and her investigative approach.
TheWrap: The finale of “The Residence” provided a satisfying conclusion to the complex crime. How did you go about tying all the clues together in Episode 8?
Paul William Davies: The goal was to create a classic murder mystery with a dynamic resolution. I aimed for a traditional gathering of suspects where the murderer is revealed at the last moment. Cordelia Cupp’s overlapping uncertainty was key to avoid frustrating the audience, ensuring she herself had to uncover the truth during the summation.
Many different characters became part of the body-moving incident. Why add that layer to the mystery?
It made the plot more engaging, drawing in multiple characters and evoking classic murder mystery tropes. Despite their unintentional involvement, their roles added to the intricacy of the story while maintaining a reasonable logic throughout.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
“The Residence” is now available for streaming on Netflix.
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