• 2 days ago
Top 10 Hidden References We Missed in The Residence
Transcript
00:00This is us. This is the house."
00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:05And today, we're counting down our picks for the hidden details
00:08and references in Netflix's 2025 murder mystery dramedy The Residents.
00:12Since this list includes key plot points and clues,
00:15there are major spoilers ahead.
00:17I saw Elsie running out of the yellow over room with a candlestick in her hand.
00:24Number 10. Episode titles
00:27For showrunner Paul William Davies,
00:28The Residents gave him the chance to pay homage to his favorite murder mystery influences.
00:33Part of the fun of the show and the genre is often to pay respect to predecessors.
00:39I was influenced by so many movies and books.
00:42I wanted to weave that in throughout the show.
00:44And each episode, I referenced famous murder mysteries.
00:48Episode one shows the discovery of Chief Usher A.B. Winter's body
00:52and is aptly titled after Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher.
00:56Episode two is partly about tracing a mystery phone call,
00:59taking its name from Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 thriller Dial M for Murder.
01:03That's what he said after that. After he hung up.
01:12I am going to be dead by the end of the night.
01:15Episode three centers on a missing knife,
01:17a reference to Rian Johnson's 2019 Whodunit Knives Out.
01:21Episode four mainly focuses on Sheila Cannon,
01:23making the 1973 film The Last of Sheila a perfect title.
01:28Episode five, in which Harry Hollinger becomes a suspect,
01:30is titled after the 1955 dark comedy The Trouble With Harry.
01:35Harry Hollinger, Oliver Root,
01:37Director of the CIA.
01:38Yes, and Walpole Bing.
01:40The Australian industrialist.
01:42Exactly. And one of Harry Hollinger's best friends, apparently.
01:46Episode six comes from the 1949 film Noir The Third Man,
01:49with episode seven inspired by the 1892 Sherlock Holmes short story
01:53The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb.
01:55The finale references Gaston Leroux's 1907 book The Mystery of the Yellow Room.
02:00Some episodes, the connection is more obvious.
02:03Sometimes you have to look for it a little bit.
02:05I think people who really love the genre do appreciate that history.
02:08Number nine, presidential cameo.
02:11Speaking of Davies, in the third episode,
02:13he takes a page from legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock.
02:16Somebody asked me if I wanted to be in the show,
02:20and I was like, you know, that'd be fun.
02:21And makes a cameo as Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States.
02:26This quick cutaway scene shows him enjoying Bananas Foster,
02:29the dessert pastry chef Didier Godard wanted to serve for the state dinner.
02:33Didier wanted to make desserts that Calvin Coolidge would be excited about.
02:38Didier and Winter had always got along well, for years.
02:42Didier was a perfectionist and so was Winter.
02:45Davies also made a cool casting choice with SNL alum Al Franken
02:48as Washington senior senator Aaron Filkins.
02:51The real-life former Minnesota senator served from 2009 to 2018.
02:56You're not a political appointee.
02:58No, sir.
02:59The work of the White House residence staff is not political in any way.
03:03Same with this committee.
03:04Number eight, party crashers.
03:06Cordelia Cupp initially overlooked one of many things
03:09that went wrong on the night of the state dinner.
03:11Someone crashed a party.
03:13So you just give us a brief?
03:15Two people crashed the party.
03:19A few guests and staff members tell her about two people,
03:22socialites Valentina and Lorenzo Moda, crashing the event.
03:25Valentina and Lorenzo Moda were two Washington socialites
03:29who arrived at the east entrance a little after 6.15,
03:32mingled with the other guests in the reception area
03:37and then met the president in the receiving line.
03:40Some fans of The Real Housewives of D.C. were reminded of the 2009 scandal
03:44with alum Mikkel Salahi and husband Tarek Salahi.
03:47It was alleged the then-couple attended President Barack Obama's first state dinner,
03:52despite not being invited.
03:54Valentina's also wearing a red gown like Mikkel.
03:57This reference is so far unconfirmed by the creators,
04:00but even if unintentional, the similarities are undeniable.
04:04These were not people the Morgans would socialize with.
04:06There's a little bit of a snook.
04:09It turns out that they had snuck into the White House.
04:11Number seven, an abundance of birds.
04:14Cordelia Cupp has instantly become a beloved fictional detective.
04:18And like all great sleuths,
04:19her talent for solving unsolvable crimes stems from her quirks.
04:23I didn't set out to make her a birder from the start,
04:26but the deeper I got into the story,
04:28I realized it was one of the defining characteristics
04:31of the way that she approaches her job.
04:33Her love of bird watching,
04:34a passion that requires patience and tons of research,
04:37informs the way she investigates.
04:39She's falcon-like in her sharp eye for detail
04:42and ability to hone in on a suspect or piece of evidence.
04:45Cordelia often uses birds to explain human behavior
04:48and regularly shares facts with the people around her.
04:51You know the amazing thing about birds?
04:54Birds have the ability to focus.
04:57It's not that they're just good at hunting for food,
05:00they literally filter out things that are not food.
05:04The show does feature actual birds,
05:06but bird designs also appear in places like Nan's wallpaper
05:09and St. Pierre's clothing.
05:10Hopefully viewers found the bird motif interesting,
05:13unlike some of the characters.
05:15Can we not with all the birds this time?
05:18Just like, enough with the birds.
05:20Number 6.
05:21Real White House Stories
05:23While The Residence tells a fictional story of murder and mayhem,
05:26the idea originated from a non-fiction book.
05:29Nancy Reagan had an astrologer who set the presidential schedule.
05:32The Gorbachev-Reagan nuclear summit in Iceland?
05:34Planned by the astrologer.
05:36People think the Cold War ended because of containment,
05:38but really it was just a new moon in Libra.
05:39Davies was inspired to create the series after reading The Residence,
05:43Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Anderson Brower.
05:46He inserted various anecdotes about real accounts of the occupants,
05:50guests, and staff members over the years.
05:52Some stories were made into plot points,
05:54such as the first family faking a guest room renovation
05:56to keep people from staying over,
05:58which former first lady Jackie Kennedy apparently did in real life.
06:02I know there's a room across the hall from me that's being renovated.
06:05It's not being renovated.
06:06So you're talking about a different room?
06:07No, I'm saying that the room you think is being renovated
06:10is not actually being renovated.
06:11The president and Mr. Morgan asked the staff to make it look like
06:13it was being renovated because there was someone they didn't want to stay here.
06:16President Morgan is rather particular about water pressure,
06:19supposedly mirroring former president Lyndon B. Johnson.
06:22Davies also took inspiration from the real-life Ficklin family,
06:26who had multiple generations working at the White House,
06:29much like the three generations of McCutcheons.
06:31In this case, all named George.
06:34No, you want the other George McCutcheon.
06:36Yes, there's a big George, and a little George, and me,
06:39and there were two other George McCutcheons before any of us.
06:43Number five, White House design accuracy.
06:46Even for people who haven't seen it all in person,
06:48it's evident that the White House set of The Residence looks great on screen.
06:52Did Winter have an office?
06:54Yes, on the mezzanine.
06:55Show me, and take the long way.
06:57The show didn't film in Washington, D.C.,
06:59but instead used soundstages in Los Angeles.
07:02Production designer Francois Odui managed to recreate these historical places,
07:06including the Yellow Oval Room,
07:08the Red Room,
07:09the Green Room,
07:10the Blue Room,
07:11the Treaty Room,
07:12the Lincoln Bedroom,
07:13and the State Dining Room.
07:15I really wanted to show the audience all the rooms,
07:18and each of them has a history.
07:20So we picked the version of it that we liked,
07:22and then sometimes embellished it slightly.
07:25Everything from the wallpaper and furniture to books and dinner plates
07:28are highly detailed.
07:30For accurate decor,
07:31production even sourced or recreated artwork
07:34that might look familiar to anyone who's visited the White House.
07:37Almost every detail you see in the White House,
07:39we tried to get as right as we could.
07:41In the China Room,
07:42we really carefully selected all of the plates to China in that room,
07:47just like we cared about everything that was in the pastry kitchen.
07:49White House consultant Haley Rivero O'Connor
07:52also provided details for unphotographed areas
07:54like the basement and staff offices.
07:57Number 4.
07:58Betty Ford Portrait
07:59When White House butler Sheila Cannon
08:01is interviewed by Detective Cup and Agent Park,
08:04she tells them about the First Gentleman's mother, Nan Cox,
08:07and her alcohol use disorder.
08:09I took a shot of the vodka before I delivered the bottle to Ms. Cox.
08:14Two shots.
08:18Three shots,
08:19but I consider the gratuity and I needed it.
08:21Sorry, not sorry.
08:22Sheila eventually admits that she also indulged during the state dinner.
08:26Behind her is a portrait of President Gerald Ford's wife, Betty,
08:29painted by Felix DeCosio in 1977.
08:32The former First Lady of the United States
08:34was candid about her personal struggles with substance use disorders
08:37and co-founded the Betty Ford Center in California.
08:40While this framing may have been unintentional,
08:42it's a nice nod to her legacy.
08:44But Ms. Cox, and I know, I know she is the President's mother-in-law,
08:48I shouldn't say anything,
08:49but I'm saying she likes to drink.
08:52Number 3.
08:54No Oval Office
08:55Even though the residence is set in the White House,
08:58the creators opted out of discussing politics
09:00and didn't mention any political parties.
09:02The work of the White House residence staff is not political in any way.
09:06In fact, they avoided the non-residential areas
09:08like the East and West Wings altogether.
09:10The yellow oval room plays a major role in the show,
09:13but did you notice we never see the other oval-shaped room?
09:17The President and his family live on the second and third floors,
09:20although there are guest bedrooms on both floors, as you know.
09:23The first floor, the state floor, contains the great ceremonial rooms.
09:27The state dining room, the red room, the blue room, the green room,
09:33and the east room, the largest room in the house.
09:36Similar to its source material,
09:37Davies wanted to focus on the inner workings of the residence staff.
09:41The state dinner, employee drama,
09:43and the eventual murder of A.B. Winter
09:45all take place in the same behind-the-scenes areas,
09:48so it makes sense that we wouldn't venture into other rooms,
09:51even THE room.
09:52Her parents, historically supporters of the other party,
09:55were major donors to the Morgans,
09:57and their support was instrumental, some think,
10:00in Perry Morgan's then-victory.
10:02Number two, murder mystery homages.
10:05In addition to episode titles,
10:06Davies also peppered references and Easter eggs of legendary authors,
10:10writers, and filmmakers throughout the show,
10:12beginning with some name drops.
10:14I don't care if she's Ms. f***ing Marple or Sherlock Holmes
10:18or whoever the f*** Daniel Craig is in that f***ing movie.
10:21Benoit Blanc.
10:22I want her in here now.
10:23Nan Cox comes across the 1946 film Terror by Night,
10:27featuring Sherlock Holmes,
10:28arguably the most famous fictional detective in history.
10:31What makes you so sure he's murdered, Mr. Holmes?
10:33That door was locked.
10:35Hey!
10:36Do you consider this loud?
10:37Your voice?
10:37No, it's a little throaty for my taste, but it's not loud.
10:40The TV.
10:42No.
10:42Agatha Christie, known for iconic literary detectives
10:45Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple,
10:47gets a few mentions.
10:49Elsie's daughter is shown reading her 1926 novel
10:52The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
10:54Chief Doakes, Detective Kopp, and Agent Park
10:56also discuss 1934's Murder on the Orient Express
10:59and its film adaptations.
11:01Someday I'll read the book.
11:05Right.
11:05Okay, that's weird.
11:08Anyway, if you remember, it turns out they all did it.
11:10All the suspects.
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11:27Number 1.
11:29One Big Clue Board
11:31As we've discussed, The Residence has various references
11:33to genre classics.
11:35Lock it down.
11:36Now.
11:40However, one of the first things about the many rooms
11:43of the actual White House that caught Davies' intrigue
11:45was how much it sounded like a clue board.
11:48Designed and manufactured in the 1940s,
11:50the murder mystery game is set inside a mansion
11:52featuring nine rooms as potential crime scenes.
11:55The show has similarly themed rooms,
11:57including a game room, dining room, kitchen, and library,
12:01along with secret passageways.
12:03She wanted to see everything.
12:05And so I showed her.
12:07132 rooms, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases,
12:13and 3 elevators spread across 6 floors and 2 mezzanines.
12:16A knife plays a post-mortem role in Winter's Death,
12:19and engineer Bruce Gellar sees Elsie leave the yellow oval room
12:22holding a candlestick.
12:23Two of the six weapons in Clue.
12:25The physicality of the characters is also reminiscent
12:28of the 1985 Clue film adaptation.
12:31How can we possibly find out which of you did it?
12:33What do you mean, which of you did it?
12:34Well, I didn't do it.
12:36Well, one of us did.
12:37We all had the opportunity.
12:38We all had a motive.
12:39Great.
12:40Did you catch any of the details?
12:41Share your findings in the comments below.
12:44Chief, how did I not see this?
12:46Do you agree with our picks?
12:48Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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12:54about our latest videos.