Uzo Aduba knows more about birds now than she ever thought she would. “I’d never heard of a grackle before. I know the purple grackle,” she says. “Or the snow-spotted owl. I came in knowing like what a hummingbird and a red robin are. And now I know what a giant antpitta is.”
On Netflix’s “The Residence,” a quirky murder mystery from Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland label, Aduba stars as Cordelia Cupp, widely considered the best detective in the world — who also happens to be a bit eccentric, with a particular obsession for birdwatching.
Aduba’s character is dispatched to the White House when White House Chief Usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito, in a role originally set for the late André Braugher) is found murdered. The event takes place in the middle of an Australian state dinner, which means there could be hundreds of suspects. Among those guiding Cupp in her investigation: FBI Special Agent Edwin Park (Randall Park).
Variety‘s Awards Circuit podcast recently sat down with Aduba and Park to talk about what drew them to “The Residence,” how they instantly found chemistry, whether there could be another season and what else they have lined up.
Also on this episode: With Emmy nomination voting ending on Monday, the Roundtable takes one more look at the major categories, how the number of submissions has changed some of the competition and who didn’t bother to join in. Listen below!
Paul William Davies is the creator behind “The Residence,” which was inspired by Kate Andersen Brower’s book “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House.” Both Aduba and Park are amazed by how meticulous Davies was with the show’s details.
“What’s so great about the show that Paul has written, is that it challenges the audience to guess,” Aduba says. “And he never doubts just how smart the audience is to sort of keep pace with the story that he’s writing.”
Aduba says she became more enthralled with the scripts to the eight-episode series as they came in — and started guessing who the real killer might be. And she got it wrong. “I thought it was Jasmine (Susan Kelechi Watson), and then I thought it was Jasmine and Harry. I thought Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino) did it, but she had something to do with it. That’s where I landed in the end, until I found out who did it. And I was sure of it too.
“But I think that’s what’s really exciting about a well constructed murder mystery,” she says. “You really are kept guessing until that final moment when the killer is revealed, and their why and how. The how is always clear, but the why is always just wrapped in mystery and curiosity. And I think we have that here.”
For Park, who plays FBI agent Jimmy Woo in the Marvel universe (including “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and its sequel, as well as “WandaVision”), he wasn’t so sure he wanted to suit up again. But in reading the scripts, “I thought, wow, the writing was unlike anything I had ever read before,” he says. “I was kind of on the fence — even though the project was so great, and the appeal of working in Shondaland was very exciting. I couldn’t stop thinking about the script and Paul’s writing, and then I found out that Uzo would be playing Cordelia Cupp. Right away I was like, ‘I hope this role hasn’t been cast yet, because I’ve got to do it.’”
Park says he’s glad he signed on, even though the show faced plenty of obstacles — including the unexpected and tragic death of Braugher. “It was definitely a road that we were on that was not without its bumps and difficult times, but it brought us all so close,” he says. “The experience was just so special, on top of the show being so special.”
And that included the chemistry with Aduba. “Chemistry isn’t always, at least in my experience, automatic,” Park says. “But with Uzo, it was automatic. She felt like an old friend immediately and we just had such a great time. I think that bled into the performances, that connection, even though she was berating me.”
Aduba admits that was hard: “That was the worst, this is like maybe the nicest person I’ve ever met in my life, and to say those things to!”
So, what are the plans for a Season 2? Quips Aduba: “Well, we already said, no spoilers! In all sincerity, what I do know is I loved working with Randall Park. I loved making this show. We had a real joy. And what I do know is Cordelia Cupp… I don’t think that just ends. She will always have many more adventures going on in places and worlds that she’s going to see. And that’s exciting to me.”
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.