Mr. & Mrs. Smith

After seeing the low ratings for this show, I couldn't help but think, "Oh no, not another disappointment." However, since I'm a fan of espionage-themed TV shows and movies, and having enjoyed the film, I felt compelled to give this TV series a chance. And, I'm glad I did. While the movie leaned heavily on the sex appeal of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, this rendition of Mr. & Mrs. Smith excels in both acting and writing. With only 8 episodes, building a story arc with substantial depth is no easy feat. Yet, this series manages it admirably. Each episode is fun to watch, and it's evident that the cast relished portraying these deadly characters. Although it was seemingly written as a limited series, I'm really hoping for a second season.

This show starts slow, hence the impatience of the ADD generation and bad reviews. Two people are put together to be spies for a mysterious organization. Both of their personalities are very different, so it takes time for them to gel and for the audience to get to know them. That's actually a strength as the series continues because just like a real relationship their differences is what makes it work. Their relationship starts slow, develops, then their personalities clash after the honeymoon phase and the show does a good job of exploring where the characters go from here. Unlike the movie it does a better job of exploring the relationship dynamic and is not as dependent on their looks. The movie was terrible, and there in lies a problem. People who liked the attractive people in the movie, explosions, and action aren't going to enjoy a nuanced show about how to make relationships work within a spy show. This is more of a show about being in a relationship with two very different personalities than a spy show. If you're looking for a flashy show, with attractive people, no plot, lots of explosions, then watch the movie. If you want actual characters, character development, and an overarching storyline, then give this series a try. It's a slow burn that requires a little patience. It's by no means perfect, but you might find yourself growing to like their characters as the series progresses. The show does take some liberties to push the storyline along and to further explore their relationship. Examples include the episode with Toby who acts more like their child than a grown man, their opening up their home and secrets to another couple, and others. This is done to further show the relationship dynamic more than the actual spy craft. It is a fun show, just more relationship oriented and character development than action.

I fell victim to the marketing ploys of this show and was excited for this show to be released, watching most of the series the day it was released.

It is well made and had a good production value. Well shot and for the most part well acted. But I find the subject matter to be dull and the writing to be a bit lazy.

This is a spy show that is missing all of the quintessential "spy things" found in the genre. First off, the characters are basically Craigslist Kirkland-brand spies. They are not very good at their jobs and they are following the orders of a chat-GTP style entity. Also, the series is episodic, so they are in a new location doing a new task every episode. This is okay, but 90% of the episode is spent examining their relationship, while 10% is spent doing a few spy things.

All of the realism in this show is spent on relationship building. It's like a committee sat down and wrote a standard rom com using fights, quirks, and highlights from all of their previous relationships and packages them into a show. Needing a hook, they threw in a few lazily-written spy scenes to match it watchable.

I'm being a bit harsh here. The series is somewhat enjoyable and the relationship scenes are pretty well executed and well thought out. But if you are looking for an espionage/spy show with any sort of realism, this isn't it. This is a show about the fake marriage between two people that just happen to be spies.

The series is a character drama with the facade of an action series. We are deeply invested in these characters and the pacing gives us room to explore their love, and flaws in an intimate way. In a word I would describe the series as warmth. It has deeply human scenes with actors that make you care. The pacing and dialogue are not action drama standard. If you are looking for a series to distract with guns a shoot em ups, this probably isn't for you. It you're interested to see how love, compassion, friendship, and intimacy play out in a world of spies and humor... this is the series for you.

I watched all 8 episodes and found them to have the same sentiment as the original movie but with a ton more depth. And also what I thought was better acting, Donald and Maya took every episode and put their full acting strength behind it to give each episode a familiar piece of life with some crazy action involved too. Some of the mid episodes definitely just felt like fillers and since we had the general plot going we didn't feel as we had to watch every second to get the gist. Now to the ending, DIDN'T LIKE, why with 8 full episodes would the series runners leave it on a cliffhanger... not appreciated and made me have mixed feelings toward the entire series. Boo.