Eccentric detective and avid birdwatcher Cordelia Cupp is called to the White House during a state banquet to solve the murder of the chief usher.

Binoculars in hand, she proceeds to cross off the birds on her list, while shutting down The Residence, much to the dismay of the president, whose dinner with the Australian prime minister is turning into a disaster.

Despite the determination of the president’s chief adviser to put the death down to suicide, Cupp (Uzo Aduba) deduces that chief usher AB Wynter did not die where he was found and that a suicide had indeed been staged.

As the night progresses and people are getting agitated, it appears that almost everyone had a reason to want the chief usher dead.

Swapped bloody shirts, senior officials in coitus with the chef, bodies being dragged back and forth, clogged toilets and a congressional hearing all make up a refreshing murder mystery that can be watched in a day or spread out over a weekend.

This new bonkers whodunnit, which premiered in March on Netflix, is reminiscent of Cluedo and displays a cascade of diverse characters, including the president’s mother-in-law, an annoying social secretary and the man who got out against protocol. And, of course, Kylie Minogue who turns from guest to entertainer after being promised she can stay overnight in the Lincoln bedroom. A very elusive Hugh Jackman is thrown in throughout.

So, did the chief usher slit his own wrists, was he poisoned, was he hit over the head – and in which room?

Each tiny clue brings Cupp closer to solving the mystery.

A witty, well-cast and cleverly written series, featuring Giancarlo Esposito as the chief usher, with actors expertly delivering their characters, while scuttling upstairs, downstairs, backstairs, in the garden, across the road and all the way to Congress. Aduba is excellent as Cupp.

Shondaland’s The Residence was created by Paul William Davies and inspired by Kate Andersen Brower’s book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House.