Review: Is ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ one of the best TV series based on a movie ever?

Let’s be honest, although Hollywood loves ’em, TV shows based on movies are rarely a good idea.

Although occasionally the tactic results in something truly special like Fargo or What We Do in the Shadows, more often than not you end up with the likes of, say, recent one-season wonder True Lies. It’s just an incredibly risky prospect, one that would challenge even the smartest of showrunners, to turn a concept invented to support about 120 minutes of screentime into one that can sustain hours and hours.

So that’s why no one was losing any sleep over the fact that a Mr. and Mrs. Smith TV show was taking so long to get here. First developed as an ABC pilot starring Martin Henderson and Jordana Brewster in 2007, the project was later revamped at Amazon in 2021 with Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Following a split over creative differences, Waller-Bridge was then replaced with Maya Erskine. An intriguing pair of leads, for sure, but still no one much cared.

And then the trailers came out and suddenly people started to take notice. It became clear that co-creators Glover and Francesca Sloane had figured out a way to crack the show-based-on-a-film curse by turning the movie’s premise on its head: this time it wouldn’t be about a married couple who find out they’re both spies. This time it would be about two spies who become a married couple. The result is a sparkling, funny, thrilling series that might just be one of the best of its kind.

While 2005’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie focused on the titular couple stuck in a rut, the TV show takes us right back to the beginning of its own, very different couple’s relationship history. Having applied to join a mysterious spy agency, John (Glover) and Jane (Erskine) are given new identities and tasked with maintaining a sham marriage as cover for the various missions they are sent on. But as you would expect, the lines between their fake relationship and their real one start to blur.

To be clear, anyone expecting something in the spirit of the slick, blood-pumping action-thriller that was Doug Liman’s original should turn away now. In victoriously reimagining the story for the small screen, Glover and Sloane have bravely allowed for the fight scenes and explosions to take something of a back-seat to the organic and easy-going evolution of John and Jane’s blossoming romance. The result is the unlikely, um, marriage of an action epic and a mumblecore romcom.

Don’t get me wrong, though, Mr. and Mrs. Smith doesn’t disappoint on the set pieces front either. It looks great too as John and Jane’s missions take them to everywhere from the Alps to Italy, realized with gorgeous location shoots. It’s just that the show prefers to use the action in service of the two characters and their story and their increasing connection. Basically, come for the familiar IP but stay for the screwball comedy.

As smart as the writing is and as accomplished the direction, the series lives or dies on the chemistry between its leads. Thankfully, Erskine was absolutely the right choice to star opposite Glover as the touching, frequently laugh-out-loud funny, and seemingly improv-heavy two-handers between the pair prove to be the addictive backbone of the show. We follow John and Jane from their very first meeting through every significant step of their fake/real marriage — episodes are based around missions that coincide with relationship milestones. e.g. first date, first double date ETC. There’s a real sweetness to the duo that — I’m sorry, I’m going to say it — trumps the deliberately dysfunctional marriage of the Smiths from the movies.

With a fascinating spy mythology that builds throughout, and a seemingly endless pool of A-list guest stars, Mr. and Mrs. Smith could buck the trend of its genre as it’s genuinely strong enough to support several more seasons. Like all good marriages, compromise is important and Glover and his team have created something that brilliantly merges the scale of the film with the intimacy of TV, giving us the best of both worlds. It’s not quite perfect — what marriage is? — but the Smiths are certainly one couple we’d love to invite around our home again.