We’re less than a month out from the arrival of MR. & MRS. SMITH to Prime Video and our friends at the streamer just dropped a new featurette.

The latest clips include commentary from the show’s stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, who waste no time pointing out how drastically different they are from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who previously starred in the film of the same name. Glover goes on to discuss how tonally different the new series is from the thriller.

Check out the featurette below:

We’re loving the BTS commentary and the clips. This looks really good. Prime Video has also released a letter from Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-creator/showrunner… Francesca Sloane, further describing the motivation behind the project and the various sources of inspiration — which shockingly enough include reality series Married At First Sight!

Check out the full letter below:

Hello, I’m Francesca Sloane, co-creator of the television series, MR. & MRS. SMITH, alongside Donald

Glover. When Donald first asked me if I wanted to make this show, I sincerely thought he was kidding

around. 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. And furthermore, that with this

project we could subvert the spy and action genre by whole-heartedly focusing on the characters, on

their relationship, on their marriage. I was intrigued and I was all in. 2020 had a lot of us reflecting on

our humanity, on our mortality, on who and what we kept close, on what we valued, on our loneliness.

We used this ethos as the backbone and foundation of our take, our re-mix, of MR. & MRS. SMITH.

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. What if you were

being sold the great American dream: a gorgeous house, money, travel, and a partner to spend it all

with? What would an action show feel like if we considered all of the ‘in-between-moments’ rather than

focusing on the spectacle? What would a show feel like if Jane more often than not had to save John,

rather than the other way around? What would that realistically do to the dynamics of a relationship

between a man and a woman both chasing after the same career? And lastly, but most importantly, how

can two people let their guards down to fall in love with each other while simultaneously putting their

lives on the line? What does love look like with spy stakes?

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. This show is about a relationship, it’s about being

clumsy humans. It’s about being relatable. John and Jane are offered the chance of a lifetime, whole new

identities, an opportunity to be super spies. Metaphorically, though, they are C- students being thrown

into an AP course. The stylish clothes (they’ll wear them), the iconic, international set-pieces (we’ll have

them), the exciting shoot-em-ups (they’ll be there), will all be background to the raw and emotional

components of John and Jane navigating the milestones of a real connection. We’ll watch their arranged

marriage become something authentic. We’ll experience them saying their first ‘I love you’ and

experience them first farting around each other. We’ll see them engage with in-laws, personal

rituals/habits, sex, the topic of kids, jealousy, and eventually using each other’s deepest vulnerabilities as

leverage when sh*t hits the fan. All of this while running around the world and completing high risk

missions.

While being deeply inspired by everything from classic spy hits, to Hitchcock, to Bergman, to modern

reality shows like Married At First Sight, we constructed a world that aimed to subvert as many tropes as

we could get our hands on, in both rom-coms and spy thrillers. In episode one, John and Jane endure a

brutal foot-chase through Brooklyn and end up with blisters on their feet when they get home. On our

show, wearing the wrong shoes has its repercussions. (You never see James Bond tending to a callous,

and that’s what we’re aiming for.) In episode two, John and Jane have to realistically deal with the

awkward, daunting task of getting rid of a dead body in real time, doing their best not to puke in front of

each other. We wanted it to be funny in an uncomfortable sort of way. Whenever Donald and I came up

with a joke that felt potentially too spicy, we always knew that was the piece that needed to end up on

screen.

On our show, we go on the journey of seeing these two ordinary people become extraordinary. We

watch them become stronger spies but more vulnerable humans. We hope that you laugh. We hope that

it makes you feel something. We hope that you enjoy the big swing. In such a saturated world of so many

options, thank you for taking the time to watch MR. & MRS. SMITH.

Cheers,

Francesca

MR. & MRS. SMITH arrives on Prime Video February 2nd.