Donald Glover is the new Brad Pitt, at least when it comes to Prime Video’s eight-episode “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” series. Glover stars in and co-created the reimagining of Pitt’s 2005 action-comedy, which famously paired the A-list actor with Angelina Jolie.
“I’m not a big fan of remakes, so this was kind of a big deal to kind of take it on,” Glover told Entertainment Tonight at the show’s premiere. “once I saw the original, I was like, ‘This is a good date movie.’ And I was like, ‘Maybe I could make a good date show out of it?’ Like, you know, something me and my wife could watch together.”
Glover confirmed that he “reached out to Brad” when he was first getting ready to take on their shared role of John Smith, but the Oscar winner did not have much wisdom to impart.
“Brad was like, you know, he just Brad Pitt-ed his way out of it,” Glover said. “I was like, ‘I just need some tips,’ and he just charmed his way out of it. He was like, ‘Oh, you’ll do great, kid.’ That kind of thing.”
“I mean, he was very, very sweet and nice and thatwasvery helpful,” Glover added. “I just wanted to get a good understanding … It was great. He gave me good advice.”
The new “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” pairs Glover with “Pen15” favorite Maya Erskine. The Prime Video series puts a different twist on Jolie and Pitt’s movie by making John and Jane Smith aware of each other’s careers as spies. In the show, the two are forced to go undercover as a married couple. The movie version had John and Jane married without the knowledge that each of them was a spy.
PvNew television critic Alison Herman praised the new “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” as an “improved” take on the conceit originated in the movie, adding: “The show is more melancholy and minor-key than its logline may suggest…’Mr. & Mrs. Smith”’ is distinctly contemporary, from the charmingly awkward, mumblecore-adjacent banter between Glover and Erskine’s John and Jane to the luxuriously appointed New York townhouse where they’re stationed. From the moment John and Jane conduct their job interviews with a faceless screen in a nondescript office building, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ feels more like ‘Black Mirror’ than ‘Mission: Impossible.'”
All eight episodes of “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” will stream on Prime Video on Feb. 2.
