Francesca Sloane tackles the question of why they’ve adapted the movie and how it will be different. 

The new television series adaptation of Mr and Mrs Smith launches next month, adapting the 2005 Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie spy rom-com.

With Donald Glover and Maya Erskine in the lead roles, the show’s co-creator and showrunner Francesca Sloane has opted to tackle head-on the question of what they saw in the idea that was worth re-exploring.

“A Big Swing”

Sloane, who’s previously collaborated with Glover on Atlanta, has penned an open letter saying she was surprised the idea was first suggested:

“Based on the creative work that both Donald and I have done in the past, writing a series based on a rom-com action spy thriller felt like an odd fit for us. But Donald, in his Donald way, expressed that part of the excitement in taking this on was that it was a big swing.”

“While we asked questions, so did the internet trolls. Once we were announced, we saw the comment, ‘Who needs this show?’ We didn’t blame them. In a culture heavily inundated with remakes, this was a reasonable reaction. No one would need a show that retold the same blockbuster movie. But what we set out to do was to make something wholly original.”

She also explains how the Mr. and Mrs. Smith series has a different focus:

“As artists I think it’s typical to begin a creative journey with a boatload of philosophical questions. What would a series feel like if our heroes weren’t the two most beautiful people on the planet, but instead, were two lonely people, two underdogs, wanting more from life than what they currently had?

What if our John and Jane could be anyone, could be you and me? If James Bond put it all on the line out of loyalty to his country, we had to consider why some might do the same in America.”

Prime Video have also released a handy “Meet the Smiths” video introduction too, highlighting the tonal differences between the movie and the series,

Created by showrunner Francesca Sloane (Atlanta, Fargo) and Donald Glover, the show boasts an impressive roster of guest stars. Joining Glover and Erskine are 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.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith lands its entire eight-episode run at Prime Video on Friday February 2nd, 2024.