Warning! Spoilers for Netflix’s The Residence ahead!
Netflix’sThe Residenceis a classic style whodunit, and it takes inspiration from other stories in the genre by borrowing some famous titles for each episode. The series, which stars Uzo Aduba and Detective Cordelia Cupp, takes audiences through an intriguing and subtly hilarious murder mystery set at the White House. The Chief Usher is found murdered in one of the mansion’s many luxury rooms, all the while a state dinner full of guests plays out on the lower floors. To discover whoThe Residence’s murderer is, Cordelia Cupp must work her way through hundreds of suspects.
The Residenceadheres to just about every trope in thewhodunit murder mystery genre. It’s clear that some of the biggest twists and turns of crime literature, TV, and movies have served as inspiration for the Netflix series, which both pokes fun at and pays homage to the greatest mysteries in history.The influence of famed creators like Alfred Hitchcock, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Gaston Leroux, and more are evident from episode to episode, andThe Residencedrives this home by borrowing the titles of some of their most famous worksin ways that perfectly pair with theNetflix series' plot.
1The Fall Of The House Of Usher
Taken From An 1839 Short Story
The first episode ofThe Residenceis called “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which is also the name of a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. First published in 1839, the story follows a mysterious illness that overtakes siblings from the Usher family. It’s quickly concluded that their sickness is related to their mansion, which is believed to be haunted. In classic Poe fashion, this story is dark, mysterious, and full of death and dying.
Netflix’s The Residence Cast & Character Guide
The cast of The Residence, a Netflix mystery drama television series, is made up of numerous actors and actresses, and is led by Uzo Aduba.
The Residenceput a twist on the title of Poe’sThe Fall of the House of Usher. The murder victim in this Netflix series was A.B. Wynter, the Chief Usher of the White House. In this way, the “Fall of the House of Usher” is taken a bit more literally,referring to the titular residence falling to pieces after its usher is killed(and no longer able to run the place).
2Dial M For Murder
Taken From A 1954 Hitchcock Film
Episode 2 ofThe Residenceis named after the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock movieDial M for Murder. This mystery thriller sees a wealthy tennis pro set up an elaborate plan to murder his adulterous wife, but the woman miraculously survives. It’s all luxury, secrets, and mysteries while the attempted murderer does all he can to cover up his crime as detectives investigate.
The use of this Hitchcock movie’s title was appropriate for this episode ofThe Residencesince this is when Detective Cordelia Cupp really dives into her interviews with the White House staff and guests. This ultimately leads her touncover a scandalous sex affair between the Australian Foreign Minister and the raging White House chef.
3Knives Out
Taken From The 2019 Whodunit Crime Comedy
“Knives Out” is the title ofThe Residenceepisode 3, and this is a reference to Rian Johnson’s 2019 movie of the same name.KnivesOutis a crime comedyand modernized spoof of the whodunit genre and follows mastermind detective Benoit Blanc as he attempts to deduce who murdered a famed crime novelist (among the victim’s family).
The Residence is of a similar mold to Knives Out since both are whodunits that poke fun at the tropes of the genre.
The Residenceis of a similar mold toKnives Outsince both are whodunits that poke fun at the tropes of the genre.In a more literal sense, the title ofThe Residenceepisode 3 is fitting since this is whenCordelia Cupp solves the mystery of the knife used to cut Wynter’s wristsshortly after learning that a miniature knife had been used to stab Wynter’s ginger-bread figurine in the pastry chef’s White House replica.
4The Last Of Sheila
Taken From The 1973 Murder Mystery Movie
The Residenceepisode 4, “The Last of Sheila,” is named after the 1973 movie of the same name, directed by Herbert Ross and written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim.The murder mystery sees a husband invite a handful of suspects aboard his boat a year after his wife, Sheila, was murdered, with the goal of discovering which among them was responsible.
In this episode ofThe Residence,Detective Cupp focused on a butler named Sheila, who seemed suspicious, given her overly friendly behavior with the White House state dinner guests.Like the characters inThe Last of Sheila, it was clear that the butler was hiding a secret. It just took a little game to force this secret into the open.
5The Trouble With Harry
Taken From The 1955 Hitchcock Movie
The Residenceepisode 5 borrowed its title from the 1955 Alfred Hitchcock movieThe Trouble with Harry. This technicolor black comedy sees a town go into turmoil when a man’s body is discovered. Not only does no one know who did it, but many of those close to the man are unsure whether they themselves could be the murderer.
The connections between this episode ofThe Residenceand the mystery story it is named after are a bit simpler. In “The Trouble with Harry,“Cordelia begins to investigate the secrets of Harry Hollinger, the President of the United States' friend and advisor. Harry proves himself troublesome through just about every step of Detective Cupp’s investigation, so the title of this episode is rather literal.
6The Third Man
Taken From The 1949 Film Noir
“The Third Man” is the title of bothThe Residenceepisode 5 and the 1949 noir film by director Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene. The movie follows a novelist who plans to visit an old friend only to discover him murdered. He then dives into an investigation to find the titular, mysterious “third man,” who was notably present during the crime (though no one knew his identity).
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This episode ofThe Residenceis about essentially the same thing. Cordelia Cupp’s investigation led her to discover thatthere were three party crashers at the White House state dinner. The identities of the two were discovered, but the third remained a mystery. The third man wasn’t discovered until after Cordelia’s investigation was closed, and it was his witnessing a man dragging a body at the White House that opened things back up again.
7The Adventure Of The Engineer’s Thumb
Taken From Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1892 Short Story
The Residenceepisode 7 is titled “The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb” after the short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This is one of Doyle’sSherlock Holmesmysteries, which was initially published inThe Strand Magazinein 1892. The story details a bizarre experience by an engineer who was hired to do a job only to suddenly be attacked (and lose his thumb in the process).
The title of Doyle’sThe Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumbis fitting forThe Residenceepisode 7 since this is whenCordelia begins to dive further into the story of Bruce Geller, one of the White House’s engineers. Geller was called in on his night off to fix a toilet, leading him to publically rage against Wynter. Thankfully, he didn’t lose a thumb, but Geller quickly became a person of interest.
8The Mystery Of The Yellow Room
Taken From The 1907 Gaston Leroux Mystery
The final episode of the first season ofThe Residenceis named forThe Mystery of the Yellow Room, written by French novelist Gaston Leroux and originally published in 1907. This is the first book featuring the character Joseph Rouletabille, a fictional reporter known for solving impossible crimes. InThe Mystery of the Yellow Room, Rouletabille must discover how a criminal vanished from a locked room without a trace.
InThe Residence, the meaning ofthe titular Yellow Room is changed to fit that of the Yellow Oval Room in the White House, which Cordelia deduces is the actual location of A.B. Wynter’s murder. The victim was moved twice, butThe Residencesees Detective Cupp faced with the mystery of how a murderer entered the Yellow Oval Room while both other entrances were already being watched. The answer is, as always, a secret door.
