Donald Glover’s Mr & Mrs Smith TV show has got people gagging
When Mr & Mrs Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie came out in 2005, I was six and was naturally far more interested in the Teletubbies or Rugrats. Fast forward to 2015 and 16-year-old me had definitely come around to the idea of two people, seemingly sculpted by the gods showering each other in bullets. I think it helped that Jolie might be the sexiest woman to ever exist.
Because so many of us were hyper-fixated on the scandal between Jolie, Pitt and Jennifer Anniston, we forgot how iconic Mr & Mrs Smith was. While Jolie was naturally the biggest scene stealer, I have to give Pitt serious credit—this film might be one of the only times he’s actually made me giggle.
Also, let’s give a little shout-out to Vince Vaughn. Generations might pass us by, but I don’t think people will ever get bored of a middle-aged man with a god complex who is also completely obsessed with his mother.
Now, to the conversation at hand. In February 2024, we are going to be blessed with a TV series adaptation of Mr & Mrs Smith which is going to be very appropriately called… Mr & Mrs Smith. The show stars Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, as John Smith and Maya Erskine as Jane Smith.
The trailer for the show dropped on 7 December 2023 and everyone online was immediately curious about the vibe of the show and, well, how good it looked.
Glover has been both the star and creative mind behind a lot of big gen Z fan favourite shows including Community, Atlanta, and Swarm. Erskine is slightly lesser known, having predominantly played roles in smaller TV series.
Is the new ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ TV show going to be similar to the film?
In terms of plot, let’s try and get into what this show is actually going to look like, and whether or not it’ll be anything like the original film. Keep in mind that these are, of course, all of my own personal predictions and cannot be trusted one bit, so don’t blame me if these things don’t end up happening.
From what I can tell, it appears that the slight change in the TV adaptation is that John and Jane don’t fall in love first/ In this version, they’re both recruited by a super hype and flash spy agency and are subsequently forced into a kind of arranged marriage with new identities.
I can assume that their joint missions and overall shenanigans will ultimately lead to their love story. Maybe they’ll bond over a kill or save each other’s life by jumping out of a building—these are all possible scenarios.
Given the vibe of the original film, there’s also a high likelihood that this show will really play into the whole ‘enemies to lovers’ trope. The chemistry between Glover and Erskine is already pretty palpable. Considering the fact that all of us girlies were devastated to hear that Pheobe Waller-Bridge had exited the project, I’m genuinely excited to see that the trailer promises a still thrilling show.
Why did Pheobe Waller-Bridge leave the ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ project?
In terms of why the Fleabag star quit the series, she told The Hollywood Reporter: “I worked on that show for six months fully in heart and mind and really cared about it—still care about it. And I know it’s gonna be brilliant. But sometimes it’s about knowing when to leave the party. You don’t want to get in the way of a vision. Creative collaboration is like a marriage, and some marriages don’t work out.”
I think these kinds of creative differences occur a lot of the time, but when it happens on a project that, as a viewer, you’ve been so excited for, it definitely stings a bit. That being said, the show still looks really fun.
I want to see some close-quarter smooches, some bad guys with classically evil accents, maybe a dance scene or two. Ooh, and I’d also enjoy a classic marital tiff in the middle of an intense life-or-death situation. I guess I’ll have to hold onto my Amazon Prime subscription for a few more hot minutes.
