All episodes of Mr. & Mrs. Smith are now streaming on Prime Video.
By Elazar Abrahams
Actor Donald Glover has become one of television’s finest creative minds after creating the acclaimed FX series Atlanta, and more recently Swarm, which garnered a mixed reaction from both critics and audiences, but had such a unique vision that one can’t help but admire it. His latest endeavor is a remake of 2005’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but despite the shared name, the final product is a far cry from the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie movie. John and Jane Smith are still married assassins, but that’s really where the similarities stop. Glover co-created the show with Francesca Sloane, a writer on Atlanta, and re-teamed with frequent collaborator Hiro Murai, who directs the first two episodes and executive produces. Naturally, a new Glover project, especially ones with those names attached, comes with high expectations. For the most part, the series hits, but falls just short of anything exceptional.
Glover’s chemistry with co-star Maya Erskine is on point. She plays Jane cold and calculated, a foil to John’s misplaced earnestness. Having only known her from a few episodes of the raunchy PEN15, Erskine really impressed me throughout the season. The two leads are crackling dynamite together, and that’s definitely the highlight of the series. The first three episodes are rather dull, and while I didn’t fully buy the pair’s initial fall into romance, once they were in love, I was absolutely sold on their fake marriage, and ready for the much-stronger back half of the season.
Something that appealed to me that might fly over the heads of most viewers is that Mr. & Mrs. Smith really showcases New York beyond what we see in most Big Apple-set entertainment. From their gorgeous Upper East Side townhouse to deep Brooklyn’s Flatbush streets, and even a quick stint at downtown Manhattan’s Seaport neighborhood, each of the neighborhood settings provides a unique aesthetic to the variety of missions the couple embarks on. NYC is not just Midtown and Times Square, and the scripts truly take advantage of that.
A good spy show also means some globetrotting, so the Smiths aren’t exclusively bound to the five boroughs. Two episodes are set in Italy, one in an Alps ski resort, and the other near Lake Como. The show is a pleasant combo of “mission of the week” and serialization, as the titular characters’ relationship evolves, and the devolves. The segmented structure allows for fun guest star appearances, with everyone from Parker Posey to Paul Dano popping in for bit parts. Ron Perlman makes the biggest impression in the fifth episode, adding a strong presence to multiple car chases, and opening up some fractures in John and Jane’s wedlock.
Relationship drama is tough, and triply so when it’s a pair of assassins who begin to grind each other’s gears. As the last few installments tease trouble on the horizon for the protagonists who just a few episodes ago would take a bullet for each other, Sara Paulson guest stars as the Smiths’ couples therapist in episode six, an early contender for one of the best television episodes of 2024. Here, Glover and Sloane are at the top of their game, pushing the boundaries of the TV format but still crafting something that is quintessentially television — that could only be done in this specific medium. In a season that has several sags and is by no means perfect, those 44 minutes are the ones sticking with me.
I give Mr. & Mrs. Smith a B+.
TV and City 