Amazon’s adaptation of Mr. & Mrs. Smith put a twist on the original Doug Liman film and the show, which premiered earlier this year, would become one of Prime Video’s top five new series debuts ever in terms of total U.S. viewers. The series would get the greenlight for a second season at Prime Video; however, Variety is reporting that the first season’s stars, Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, are not expected to return. Amazon would decline to comment on the matter and reps for both actors have not immediately responded to the news.

Despite the news of the two leads sitting out the next season, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, has still shown her enthusiasm for the future of the series, “We are excited to announce that a second season of our groundbreaking spy series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, is in the works for our global Prime Video customers. The success of the first season, with its incredibly modern, sexy reinvention of the original film, is a testament to the brilliant creators Donald Glover and Francesa Sloane. We are proud to bring you another season filled with unforgettable journeys and new adventures.”

It is being said that the ending of the first season perhaps led to the show leaning into becoming more of an anthology series with different spy couples taking up the identities of John and Jane Smith every season. Glover and Erskine’s characters would be the inaugural couple and this upcoming season would see different actors partake in a similar undercover assignment with some romantic complications. This announcement was a part of Amazon’s first-ever upfront event, which also announced an early renewal of another hit streaming title, The Boys.

While the title implies that the show is a reboot of the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the show’s plot would not exactly rehash the movie’s. In the official synopsis for season one, “Two lonely strangers land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travels, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan. The catch? New identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith.
Now hitched, John and Jane navigate a high-risk mission every week while also facing a new relationship milestone. Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for
each other. What’s riskier: espionage or marriage?”

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PLOT: Two lonely strangers land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travel, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan. The catch? New identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith. Now hitched, John and Jane navigate a high-risk mission every week while also facing a new relationship milestone. Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. What’s riskier: espionage or marriage?

REVIEW: The 2005 film, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, was one of the top-grossing films of the year despite mixed reviews. Written by Simon Kinberg and directed by Doug Liman, the movie was bolstered by the real-life romance between stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The tabloid fodder of that relationship was free marketing for the film which was a mediocre action comedy about a married couple who do not know they are rival spies contracted to take each other out. The new series based on Mr. & Mrs. Smith keeps the marriage and spy elements of the film’s plot but completely transforms them into a unique tale that follows a relationship through all of its stages but with the added risk of death. Developed by Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane, this new Mr. & Mrs. Smith is dramatic, funny, violent, and so unlike the original film and its shortlived ABC spin-off that it deserves a spot on your watchlist.

Collaborating with many of the talented writers and directors he worked with on Atlanta, this unique take on Mr. & Mrs. Smith is nothing like what I expected. The opening scene of the premiere episode features Alexander Skarsgard and Eiza Gonzalez in a sequence that, at first, seems to be out of place with the series that follows. We then meet John Smith (Donald Glover) and Jane Smith (Maya Erskine) as they are interviewed separately. The job interview asks them to forsake their prior lives and enter a legal marriage with a complete stranger. The coupling will serve as a professional front for them to take on secret missions on behalf of the unnamed agency that employs them. John and Jane meet for the first time at their luxurious brownstone as they take on their first mission. From the first time they meet, John and Jane have sparks but keep things distant as they learn the ropes of being spies. By the end of the first episode, the stakes of their new career are apparent.

In an intriguing shift from the 2005 film, this Mr. & Mrs. Smith makes John and Jane fully aware of each other’s spying career as they are partners. The show then progresses through key relationship milestones as the episodes bear titles like “First Date”, “First Vacation”, “Do You Want Kids?”, “Couples Therapy” and more. The eight-episode series serves as a full timeline of a romantic relationship with the added twist of forcing these two characters into life-or-death missions. In one episode, John and Jane must contend with a kidnapping and ransom demand, and in another, they deal with administering truth serum to a target. Sometimes the missions work out and other times complications lead to the couple garnering a strike. Three strikes and they are out which strengthens their bond with each other as much as it pushes them apart. It is a very intriguing way of structuring this story but allows Donald Glover and Maya Erskine to command the majority of the series between themselves. Both actors are incredibly talented and their chemistry sells this series for me.

It also helps that there is a solid roster of guest stars including Parker Posey and Wagner Moura, Michaela Coel, John Turturro, Sharon Horgan, Billy Campbell, Ron Perlman, and Ursula Corbero. Sarah Paulson and Paul Dano have key roles as a therapist and the Smiths’ neighbor, respectively, who factor into the overall narrative of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. But, even with these amazing talents, the majority of the series centers on Glover and Erskine. Originally developed with Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the Jane role, Maya Erskine more than holds her own opposite Donald Glover. A story like this hinges on the interaction between the leads and the unique circumstances of the pair struggling with pretending to love each other and then actually falling for one another makes the awkwardness at the center something special. This story also thrives on the small and quiet moments between John and Jane as we see the roots of their relationship growing and fracturing organically.

Created by Francesca Sloane, a veteran writer, and producer on Fargo and Atlanta, alongside Donald Glover, Mr. & Mrs. Smith embraces the sometimes surreal elements of Atlanta and Swarm to tell stories that feel just a bit off. An entire episode focused on John and Jane meeting another pair of Smiths has so many strange moments that I could not tell if there was a twist coming. The tension in every episode is palpable and that is a kudos to the writing and directing teams on this series. Sloane wrote or co-wrote six of the eight episodes while Glover helped script two. They were joined by Stephen Glover, Carla Ching, Yvonne Hana Yi, Adamma EBo, Adanne Ebo, and Schuyler Pappas. Directing duties went to veteran collaborator Hiro Murai as well as cinematographer Christian Sprenger as well as Donald Glover himself. All of the talent involved helps shape this series into a structured narrative that echoes the feature film when bullets begin to fly between John and Jane at the end of the season. The action here is measured and used sparingly in each episode but balances the dialogue-heavy interactions which were amongst my favorite parts of this series.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a fantastic series that could end with this run of eight episodes or carry on for a second season as the finale is structured in a way that would work for either future path. The action is well done and the spycraft never feels outside of the realm of what realistic characters could do, but there are so many resonant moments in this series including broken bones, farts, and relationship minutae that work perfectly in the context of this story. Maya Erskine and Donald Glover make a great team and I feel this series eclipses the feature film that inspired it, mostly because this is absolutely nothing like it. Chock full of great music and one of the coolest on-screen apartments/homes in recent memory, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is the definitive spy-romcom/relationship drama and is a solid binge-watch this weekend.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith premieres all eight episodes on February 2nd on Prime Video.

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The new trailer for Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith has arrived just ahead of the series debut early next month. The series puts several twists on the formula. Firstly, the Doug Liman movie that the series is based on, which starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, had more of a True Lies-esque plot where a seemingly mundane suburban married couple discover that they both are secret agents and work for rival agencies. Here, the two are on an undercover mission as a married couple, and both may be in over their heads in many ways. Secondly, the two leads — Donald Glover and Maya Erskine — are normally known primarily for comedic roles and are dabbling in more action-oriented fare this time around.

The official synopsis from Amazon reads,
“Two lonely strangers land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travel, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan. The catch? New identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith. Now hitched, John and Jane navigate a high-risk mission every week while also facing a new relationship milestone. Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. What’s riskier: espionage or marriage?”

The ensemble of actors who make up the cast joining Glover and Erskine will be Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, Sarah Paulson, Sharon Horgan, Ron Perlman, Billy Campbell, Úrsula Corberó, Paul Dano, Michaela Coel, John Turturro, Parker Posey and Wagner Moura.

Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane are co-creators and executive producers of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, with Sloane (whose credits also include Fargo and Hulu’s The First) serving as showrunner. The two also previously collaborated on Glover’s hit comedy show on FX, Atlanta. The show is set to have eight episodes in its first season. All eight episodes are scheduled to premiere on Prime Video on February 2.

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Since its debut last month, Blue Eye Samurai has proven to be a well-received hit for Netflix, so it should come as no surprise that Netflix has officially renewed the animated series for a second season.

Blue Eye Samurai tells the story of Mizu (Maya Erskine), a mixed-race master of the sword who lives a life in disguise seeking the deliverance of revenge.

“When we started this project, we made a commitment to take this very personal story set in Edo-period Japan and bring it to life in the most authentic and beautiful way possible. Our animators, historians, musicians, martial artists and voice cast made this a reality beyond our expectations,” said series creators Amber Noizumi and Michael Green in a statement. “We are thankful to our entire team and to our viewers from all over the world who have shown such passion for Mizu and her path of revenge. Mizu has a lot more blood to spill! We are deeply grateful to our incredible partners at Netflix for letting the journey continue.“

In addition to Maya Erskine, the voice cast of Blue Eye Samurai includes George Takei as Seki, Masi Oka as Ringo, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as The Swordmaker, Brenda Song as Akemi, Darren Barnet as Taigen, Randall Park as Heiji Shindo, and Kenneth Branagh as Abijah Fowler. Supporting voice cast includes Stephenie Hsu as Ise, Ming-Na Wen as Madame Kaji, Harry Shum Jr. as Takayoshi, and Mark Dacascos as Chiaki.

Netflix has canceled a number of animated shows recently, including Agent Elvis, Captain Fall, and Farzaar, so Blue Eye Samurai fans are likely relieved that the series has been renewed. Netflix hasn’t released anything official regarding viewership, but Blue Eye Samurai did break into Nielsen’s Top Ten. The series has received rave reviews and is currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

What did you think of the first season of Blue Eye Samurai and are you looking forward to a second season?

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Prime Video has just released the trailer for Donald Glover‘s new project, the action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith. While the series is based on the 2005 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie movie of the same name, the story of the show is actually inverted from the film. Doug Liman’s comedy had Pitt and Jolie’s characters having sort of a True Lies-esque revelation where both realize their spouse has actually been a secret agent. Here, Glover is partnered with Maya Erskine as they’re both undercover as a married couple on a mission.

The official synopsis from Amazon reads,
“Two lonely strangers land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travel, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan. The catch? New identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith. Now hitched, John and Jane navigate a high-risk mission every week while also facing a new relationship milestone. Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. What’s riskier: espionage or marriage?”

The ensemble of actors who make up the cast joining Glover and Erskine will be Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, Sarah Paulson, Sharon Horgan, Ron Perlman, Billy Campbell, Úrsula Corberó, Paul Dano, Michaela Coel, John Turturro, Parker Posey and Wagner Moura.

Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane are co-creators and executive producers of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, with Sloane (whose credits also include Fargo and Hulu’s The First) serving as showrunner. The two also previously collaborated on Glover’s hit comedy show on FX, Atlanta. The show is set to have eight episodes in its first season. All eight episodes are scheduled to premiere on Prime Video on February 2.

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Mr. & Mrs. Smith is adding star power to the Prime Video series, starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as two lonely strangers who land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travels, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan. The extended cast for this series is positively absurd, so hang onto your hat as we list a murders’ row of talent joining the show.

Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, Sarah Paulson, Sharon Horgan, Ron Perlman, Billy Campbell, and Úrsula Corberó pop onto the action-tinged thriller, with Paul Dano, Michaela Coel, John Turturro, Parker Posey, and Wagner Moura. I told you it was absurd. Donald and Erskine already had me tuning in, but now I’m even more excited to join the stealthy couple for some gunplay and bedroom gymnastics.

All eight episodes will be available exclusively on Prime Video on February 2, 2024, in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. Mr. & Mrs. Smith hails from co-creators and executive producers Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane (Atlanta, Fargo). The series, a reimagining of the 2005 film, stars Glover as John Smith and Maya Erskine as Jane Smith.

In this version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, two lonely strangers land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travel, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan. The catch? New identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith. Now hitched, John and Jane navigate a high-risk mission every week while facing a new relationship milestone. Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. What’s riskier: espionage or marriage?

You have to think that with so many incredible actors joining the cast, some of them will play enemy agents. I could picture Perlman as a seasoned assassin, a master of deception with a taste for blood. Unfortunately, extended cast roles are under wraps, so we’ll need to wait and see how each actor fits into the story. Are you looking forward to Prime Video’s adaptation of Mr. & Mrs. Smith? Let us know in the comments below.

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Today, Prime Video announced the premiere date for Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the highly-anticipated action series starring Donald Glover (Atlanta, Community, Solo: A Star Wars Movie) and Maya Erskine (PEN 15, DC League of Super-Pets, Wine Country) as the lethal couple. All eight episodes will be available exclusively on Prime Video on February 2, 2024, in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. In addition to announcing the Mr. & Mrs. Smith premiere date, Prime Video debuted a gallery of new images from the upcoming series.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith hails from co-creators and executive producers Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane (Atlanta, Fargo). The series, a reimagining of the 2005 film, stars Glover as John Smith and Maya Erskine as Jane Smith.

Here’s the official description of Mr. & Mrs. Smith courtesy of Prime Video:

In this version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, two lonely strangers land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travel, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan. The catch? New identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith. Now hitched, John and Jane navigate a high-risk mission every week while facing a new relationship milestone. Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. What’s riskier: espionage or marriage?

The 2005 film, which was directed by Doug Liman and penned by Simon Kinberg, starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a bored upper-middle-class married couple who were assassins belonging to competing agencies who had been assigned to kill each other. Mr & Mrs. Smith was a major box-office success at the time and was even the start of the real-life relationship between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Much like Donald Glover, who played Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story, Maya Erskine is also a member of the Star Wars family. She appears in Obi-Wan Kenobi as Sully Stark, a human dissident of an underground movement that helped smuggle surviving Jedi to safety.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is nearly ready to give action fans a shot in the arm early next year on February 2, 2024. Will you tune in for Glover and Erskine’s action-packed showcase? Let us know in the comments below.

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HBO is hitting the ground running in 2023. After announcing a second season of the hit series The Last of Us, the network is bringing Nicole Kidman back for an adaptation of Leïla Slimani’s The Perfect Nanny. The project hails from Pen15 co-creator and co-lead Maya Erskine, who HBO courted in a competitive situation. Erskine is the creator and writer of The Perfect Nanny, based on the novel of the same name by Slimani. Legendary Television is also getting in on the action alongside HBO.

Here’s the official synopsis for Slimani’s novel via Amazon:

When Myriam decides to return to work as a lawyer after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect Nanny for their son and daughter. They never dreamed they would find Louise: a quiet, polite, devoted woman who sings to the children, cleans the family’s chic Paris apartment, stays late without complaint, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the Nanny become more dependent on one another, jealousy, resentment, and suspicions mount, shattering the idyllic tableau. Building tension with every sentence, The Perfect Nanny is a compulsive, riveting, bravely observed exploration of power, class, race, domesticity, motherhood, and madness – and the American debut of an immensely talented writer.

In addition to her starring role, Kidman executive produces through her Blossom Films label with Per Saari. Erskine is executive producing with Pascal Caucheteux via Why Not Productions, with Philippe Godeau for Pan-Européenne.

In a dark twist, The Perfect Nanny took inspiration from the 2012 Krim children murder, initially published by Gallimard in France in 2016. The story delves into disturbing instances of jealousy and betrayal, making for a cautionary tale about dependency, blind trust, and murder. The book received France’s highest literary honor, the Prix Goncourt.

Child care comes with myriad challenges. I can’t begin to imagine the terror parents must feel when entrusting their babies to someone else’s care. The Perfect Nanny is a nail-biting drama that explores the fear of making terrible judgment calls and watching your family fall to pieces. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, and Kidman and Erskine will act their pants off to make you feel every awkward and terrifying moment.

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It was announced last year that Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge would be teaming up for a television adaptation of Mr. & Mrs. Smith for Amazon. Unfortunately, Phoebe Waller-Bridge exited the project a few months later due to creative differences but we now know who will be replacing her. In an interview with himself in Interview Magazine, Donald Glover revealed that PEN15 star Maya Erskine would be starring alongside him.

“She’s dope,” Donald Glover said. “It’s exciting. I really love the show. I’m writing the finale now.” Although Phoebe Waller-Bridge will no longer be starring in the Mr. & Mrs. Smith series, she remained involved as the co-creator and executive producer. Glover confirmed that the split was due to creative differences but says their parting was amicable. “I still like her,” Glover said. “I assume she still likes me.” Francesca Sloane, who collaborates with Glover on Atlanta, is also involved as co-creator, showrunner, and executive producer.

When the project was first announced, Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said, “Talk about the dream team! Donald and Phoebe are two of the most talented creators and performers in the world. It’s truly a dream for us, as it will be for our global audience, to have these two forces of nature collaborating as a powerhouse creative team. ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ is an iconic property, and we can’t wait to see how Donald, Phoebe and Francesca make it their own. We’re thrilled to be working with them, and with such great partners at New Regency.” The 2005 film, which was directed by Doug Liman and penned by Simon Kinberg, starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a bored upper-middle-class married couple who were actually assassins belonging to competing agencies who had been assigned to kill each other. Mr & Mrs. Smith was a major box-office success at the time and was even the start of the real-life relationship between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Much like Donald Glover, who played Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story, Maya Erskine is also a member of the Star Wars family. The actress will next be seen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ on May 27, 2022.

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The Disney+ Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi is welcoming PEN15 star and co-creator Maya Erskine to the cast. Hers is said to be a supporting role, with plans to feature her character in at least three episodes. The star-studded cast also includes previously announced stars Ewan McGregor (as Obi-Wan), Hayden Christen (as Darth Vader), Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie.

Currently in pre-production and due to roll cameras any day now, plot details for Obi-Wan Kenobi are being kept in the bowels of a Sarlacc pit. The series will take place 10 years after Revenge Of The Sith and nine years before A New Hope, in an era after the Jedi Order has been all but wiped out. As a way of teasing fans, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has said that the show will feature the "rematch of the century." You know what that means, don't you? I'm sensing some lightsaber swishes in our future between Obi-Wan and Vader. I hope your body is ready.

The series is directed by the one and only Deborah Chow, who shot two outstanding episodes of The Mandalorian during its first season. Much like Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Obi-Wan Kenobi will consist of six episodes.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of several Star Wars series planned for Disney+, including projects like The Book of Boba Fett (dropping later this year), a Rogue One prequel starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Rangers Of The New Republic, and an Ahsoka Tano Mandalorian spinoff series.

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