Netflix's Best Knives Out Replacement Deserved More Than 1 Season

Netflix's best Knives Out replacement series deserved so much more than one season. Following the breakout success of Rian Johnson's original Knives Out movie in 2019 (the film grossed an impressive $312 million on a modest $40 million budget), Netflix was quick to scoop up the rights to Johnson's next two installments. And why not? Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc has all the makings of a modern-day Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, and each story explores different settings, themes, and characters.

As long as Craig is up for reprising his role and Johnson can come up with another new mystery for him to solve, the Knives Out movie franchise could go on for years. Still, Netflix's real bread and butter has always been TV series, with shows like Stranger Things, Bridgerton, Wednesday, Adolescence, The Queen's Gambit, and more influencing the entertainment landscape and changing pop culture far more than any of its original movies ever have.

That's why it was such a surprise when, rather than renewing its best original detective-driven murder mystery series, one that easily could have rivaled Knives Out's popularity had it been given a chance to grow, it canceled the show after one season instead.

Produced in co-operation with TV legend Shonda Rhimes, Netflix's eight-episode murder mystery series, The Residence, offered the perfect setup to launch a brand-new anthology franchise, as a world-famous detective is called to investigate the death of the Chief Usher at the White House. Naturally, all hell breaks loose, as the staff, the First Family, and hundreds of dinner attendees are forbidden to leave until she's interviewed every worker and every guest, no matter their importance in politics (or the entertainment industry).

Cordelia Cupp Was The Perfect New Lead Detective

Much like Benoit Blanc, Uzo Aduba's Detective Cordelia Cupp is singularly observant, talented, charmingly quirky, and hilariously no-nonsense. In The Residence, she commands attention in every room without saying a word, staring down her suspects until they reveal their deepest, darkest secrets. Meanwhile, she's silently piecing the puzzle together, sifting through everyone's many, many lies and different perspectives until she finds the ultimate truth. Aduba has a wonderfully expressive face, communicating Cupp's feelings with a mere eyebrow raise or furrowed stare-down.

Aduba's performance is both fun and serious, playing perfectly off of co-stars like Randall Park's desperate-to-be-helpful special agent Edwin Park and Isaiah Whitlock Jr.'s stalwart MPD chief Larry Dokes. The show also does an excellent job of establishing Cupp's life outside her work as an investigator — more so than Rian Johnson has so far done in Knives Out, except for Hugh Grant's short yet delightful role in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery — introducing her relationship with her nephew, her never-ending love for birdwatching, and even her unique detective origin story.

Aduba could have easily led multiple seasons of a "Cordelia Cupp Mystery" anthology show. She was a refreshing change of pace in what remains an overwhelmingly male-dominated genre, made even better by the fact that, like Knives Out's Benoit Blanc, the character was wholly original rather than an adaptation. The Residence was loosely based on a book, yes, but not a fictional one.

The Residence Would Have Been The Start Of A Great New Detective Anthology Series

The Residence could have been the start of an amazing new detective franchise, an anthology TV series following in the footsteps of Knives Out and other similar, one-case-per-season shows like Only Murders in the Building or Broadchurch. The show was inspired by Kate Andersen Brower's book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House, a detailed look at the day-to-day operations of the nation's most significant landmark, but each new season could have picked a different high-profile, secretive location, changing the setting and the atmosphere with every investigation.

Having Cupp only be involved in politically sensitive cases would have set the show apart from others in the arguably oversaturated murder-mystery landscape, giving her an edge and a different perspective than even Blanc or characters like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Given the incredible cast involved in The Residence, which included a great mix of fresh, relatively unknown faces and amazing actors like Giancarlo Esposito, Ken Marino, Jane Curtin, Julian McMahon, and Australian pop sensation Kylie Minogue, there's no doubt future seasons of the show would have been able to attract a similar level of talent.

Thankfully, The Residence was structured as a miniseries and wrapped up its intriguing White House mystery within its original eight episodes, so it's certainly worth a watch, even if it didn't get renewed. Still, it's a shame Netflix passed up the opportunity to develop another incredible detective. Paul William Davies' show could have been the start of a really special and unique new murder mystery franchise.

All episodes of The Residence are streaming now, only on Netflix.