Mr. & Mrs. Smith Review: Donald Glover Reinvents the Spy Romance on Amazon

Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith bears almost no resemblance to the 2005 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie film beyond the basic premise: two strangers are paired as fake married spies by a mysterious agency. What Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane have created instead is something far more interesting — a relationship drama disguised as a spy show, using espionage missions as metaphors for the stages of a romantic partnership. Donald Glover and Maya Erskine star as John and Jane Smith, and their chemistry is the show’s beating heart.

How We Reviewed: Our assessment is based on viewing all available episodes before publishing and analysis of writing, direction, and ensemble performance. Ratings reflect full-season viewing, critical analysis, and production quality assessment. None of our selections were paid placements or sponsored content.

The Premise

John (Glover) and Jane (Erskine) are two lonely people who independently answer a cryptic job posting and find themselves assigned as partners — professionally and domestically. They move into a brownstone in New York, receive missions via text from a handler they never meet, and must maintain the fiction of a happy marriage while completing increasingly dangerous assignments. The twist is that the fiction starts becoming real.

Glover plays John as a man of surface confidence and deep insecurity — someone who wants connection but does not know how to achieve it without a script. Erskine’s Jane is more guarded, more competent in the field, and more afraid of vulnerability. Together, they create a couple whose emotional evolution feels genuine precisely because it is forced — they are two people who might never have chosen each other but who discover, through proximity and shared danger, that they fit.

Episode-by-Episode Excellence

Each episode is structured around a different mission, and the show uses these missions brilliantly. An early episode sends John and Jane to a dinner party hosted by a couple (played by Alexander Skarsgard and Eiza Gonzalez) whose perfect marriage conceals something sinister — a mirror of John and Jane’s own deception. A later episode strips away the spy framework entirely for a raw, extended argument about their relationship that is more tense than any action sequence.

The guest stars are superb. Paul Dano appears as a neurotic neighbor. Ron Perlman plays a target with unexpected depth. Parker Posey is deliciously menacing as a handler. Each guest appearance enriches the world without overwhelming the central dynamic.

The Spy Stuff

The action sequences are well-crafted when they arrive, but the show is far more interested in what happens between the missions than during them. The surveillance, the cover stories, the constant performance of normalcy — these espionage elements become metaphors for the work required in any real relationship. The show argues that all partnerships involve a degree of performance, and the question is whether the performance can become genuine.

This approach will frustrate viewers expecting a conventional action show. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is deliberately slow in places, prioritizing character over plot in ways that feel more like Atlanta than Mission: Impossible. Glover’s sensibility — elliptical, mood-driven, willing to leave things unresolved — permeates every episode.

The Ending

The season builds to a conclusion that is bold, divisive, and emotionally devastating. Without spoiling specifics, the finale forces John and Jane to confront the fundamental question of whether their relationship can survive outside the artificial structure that created it. It is an ending that respects the show’s themes even if it leaves the audience wanting more.

Verdict

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is one of the most original shows on streaming — a smart, stylish, emotionally honest exploration of modern relationships wrapped in a spy thriller’s clothing. Glover and Erskine are exceptional together, and the show’s willingness to prioritize character over action distinguishes it from everything else in the genre.

Rating: 8.5/10

For more Amazon originals, see the Amazon Prime Video Best Originals Guide and the Best Spy Thriller Shows Streaming.