Prime Video’s new series Mr. & Mrs. Smith is here and it’s probably not what you’re expecting. Although it shares the basic concept and name of the 2005 action comedy, it takes a much different path.
Co-created by showrunner Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover, Mr. & Mrs. Smith stars Glover as John Smith and Maya Erskine as Jane Smith, two strangers who take jobs working for a mysterious spy agency. The catch is the two must be in an arranged marriage as they carry out their high-risk missions.
Each episode is named after a relationship milestone (“First Date” for example) and follows a new mission. It also follows the development of their relationship from strangers to something more.
Working in the show’s favor is the chemistry between Erksine (who replaced Phoebe Waller Bridger when she left the project during development) and Glover. Despite being assigned together by the company, and seemingly being opposites, Jane and John can’t resist their initial spark.
Their pact to keep their relationship purely professional quickly falls to the wayside, and the two leads sell the fraught, magnetic relationship. Sometimes they’re completely at odds, but it’s the times they share a laugh together or just normal intimate moments that make you believe them as more than business partners.
However, a relationship of two people thrown together is bound to have its flaws, and as spies breaking up isn’t an option. The show’s focus on their relationship, and attempts to keep it together, instead of on spy work gives the series a different spin but also creates its own challenge in keeping the material fun.
This angst-ridden version of a spy story may owe more to The Americans than it does any rom-com you can think of. The decision to make the show a reboot of the Mr. and Mrs. Smith film in the first place seems more driven by Hollywood’s’ obsession with using IP than any real creative inspiration.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith’s attempt to subvert the spy and rom-com genres doesn’t always make for a winning formula during the season. There is some comedy, but it’s a darker comedy not unlike Atlanta, a show Glover and Sloane both worked on.
The jokes are wry and usually wedged between more serious moments. Most, though not all, episodes are more interested in contemplation than action.
The combination makes for a slower series than you’d expect from the genres. Prime Video’s decision to release all of the episodes at once is sure to exacerbate the problem (this is not a show I’d recommend for binge-watching).
Because each episode features a new mission as well as a few recurring characters, the intense drama does get a reprieve in the form of a slew of standout guest stars who can operate more freely as comedic foils. The cast includes Parker Posey, Wagner Moura, Ron Perlman, Sarah Paulson, and Paul Dano just to name a few.
Without revealing any spoilers, it’s safe to say in a world of spies it’s sometimes hard to know who is friend or foe, and the all-star cast adds to the charm of that concept.
The series wants the question on your mind to be whether John and Jane love each other, and maybe in a shorter form that could keep your attention. Over eight episodes it’s hard to not be distracted by the more obvious, juicier question: Who are they really working for?
Mr. & Mrs. Smith probably isn’t what you’re expecting, which is what Glover and Sloane set out to do. Whether viewers will want to stick with their mission of watching John and Jane figure things out is less guaranteed.
All eight episodes of Mr. & Mrs. Smith Season One premiere on February 2 on Prime Video.