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Updated 1 month ago,March 19, 2025
Shondalands latest project,The Residence, is a White House murder mystery with 132 rooms, 157 suspects, and Emmy Award Winning Uzo Aduba in the leaddetective role.
The production powerhouse carries the weight of its reputation and past successes, butThe Residenceshares 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 fromThe Residence, which goes lives March 20th on Netflix.
The Residence
Orange Is The New Black
Paradise
Paradise, which debuted earlier this year on Hulu, is sure to draw comparisons toThe Residencedue to major plot similarities.
The murder victim inParadiseis the U.S. president himself, and his top secret service agent must clear his name of the crime.
The victim inThe Residenceis the White House Chief Usher, the staff member in charge of the White Houses physical space.
Orange Is The New Black
WhereParadiseshocks viewers with a post-apocalyptic plot twist that has already earned it a renewal for a second season,The Residencedraws 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 forThe Residencedescribe it as the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, playing on the British genre whose most recent global success isDownton Abbey, the acclaimed period drama following the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants.The Residencetrailer 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
HulusOnly Murders In The Buildingmay prove to be a spiritual predecessor toThe Residence, as both tout comedic foundations and a large scope of suspects.
Neither contains the action of a Guy RitchieSherlock Holmesfilm 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 Residencedraws on the same quirky, cozy, bookish aesthetic that made Only Murders 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 Stings memorable cameo brought to the first season ofOnly Murders In The Building.
