If you’re itching to know the secret of Netflix’s new quirky comedy-drama “whodunit” series The Residence, I’m dropping it right here: the smartest women in the White House are Black women.
The show revolves around a murder that takes place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue during a state dinner. Detective Cordelia Cupp, who has her own unique style of closing cases, is brought onto the scene. And she’s not taking orders from anyone.
“She is smart. She’s excellent at her job. She’s the world’s greatest detective,” declared Uzo Aduba, who plays Cordelia.
“She’s somebody who is not intimidated by anything or any person or any atmosphere, including the people’s house. At the end of the day, she is there for one thing, getting to the truth about who did it.”
This woman likes to watch birds, and her patience and attention to detail have sharpened her skills to perfection when it comes to analyzing the scene and solving the crime. “Applying her hobby of birding to her job has given her a particular edge or a different insight into how to examine clues and people of interest,” Aduba explained.
Cordelia proves that in episode one as she notes clues others missed at the crime scene. “Her abilities to process information at a quicker pace than any of the people who felt they had more formal authority over her could do” show us all how she’s stronger a detective than anyone in the room, so you know that case is gonna be solved (even if it takes eight twisty episodes to get us there).
Then there’s Jasmine Haney, next in line to be the White House Chief Usher. Yeah, what the heck is a White House Chief Usher?
“They’re the person who runs the residence portion of the house. They manage the day-to-day, and they are a manager over everyone who’s not in the West Wing…sort of like the president of that part of the house,” shared Susan Kelechi Watson, who plays Jasmine.
“It’s a really, really important role.” No wonder she’s up for the job.
Watson understands the importance of seeing Black women in the White House, even if it’s just fictional characters on TV. “Once people see it, then they can imagine it. And once people can imagine it, then they start to create a reality around it,” she declared.
Like many Black women who have reached the top of the corporate ladder, they’ve worked twice as hard to jump the hurdles that would have kept them from rising to the top.
“In a lot of these positions, you’ll get people who are really overqualified,” Watson attested.
“Kamala [Harris], Michelle Obama, people who have taken these very strong, powerful positions…we have to take note of that and really start to really normalize those things because it’s the future of the country.”
The Residence, all eight episodes, premieres March 20 on Netflix.
