Murder mystery

There’s been a murder in the White House! The chief usher is dead on the third floor, under mysterious circumstances, while a state dinner is happening below, and nobody’s allowed to leave until a world-class detective cracks the case. It’s such an obviously good premise that it’s almost shocking that Agatha Christie never got to it; and though The Residence doesn’t get up to her level, and Cordelia Cupp (played by Uzo Aduba) is no Hercule Poirot, it’s a lot closer than it has any right to be. Out today on Netflix, this eight-episode show is a love letter to the murder mystery, with constant references to other fictional detectives and the episode titles borrowed from other famous entries.

The third series of the hit comedy-mystery series Only Murders in the Building has arrived on Hulu, to the same critical acclaim as the previous two installments, and the adventures of Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez show few signs of coming to an end. This time the trio are joined by none other than acting royalty Meryl Streep, playing Loretta, a plucky but frustrated actress who has never advanced to the big time, and Paul Rudd, the supposedly nicest man in Hollywood, deliberately cast against type as the obnoxious and entitled star of the show that Short is directing on Broadway, which he is hoping will restore his fortunes: a desire cruelly frustrated by Rudd’s character dropping dead on opening night.