Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Need to Know
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is an American comedy-drama television series inspired by the 1996 series and 2005 film of the same name. We see the couple dealing with a world full of dangers, as they figure out their newly formed, unpredictable partnership.

Director: Francesca Sloane, Donald Glover
Cast: Donald Glover, Maya Erskine, Paul Dano, John Turturro, Sharon Horgan, Sarah Paulson

Why Is It Worth Watching?
Based around the action-packed 2005 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie feature about married assassins who ultimately find themselves assigned to kill each other, this 2024 iteration, though borrowing inspiration for the basic plot structure from its well-known predecessor, now takes the liberty to tell a story that’s very much its own thing.
Moving away from the big screen and now presented in an eight-part TV series format, the show takes advantage of the opportunity to better flesh out the characters and their motives as the story progresses.
Donald Glover, also a co-creator of the show, and Maya Erskine partner to play the pseudonymous John and Jane Smith. They begin as two strangers who independently agree to become agents for a mysterious organisation, under the cover of a married couple. Together, they must work through missions using their espionage skills and manoeuvre tensions as their developing romantic relationship is put to the test.
Driven by clever writing and the great on-screen chemistry between Donald and Maya, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a tenaciously original take, while also honouring the original.

True Detective: Night Country

Need to Know
True Detective: Night Country is the fourth season of True Detective, an American anthology crime drama television series that’s airing on HBO. The season is set in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska, and follows the investigation behind the mysterious disappearance of eight men from a research station.

Director: Issa López
Cast: Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw, Finn Bennett, Isabella Star LaBlanc, John Hawkes, Christopher Eccleston

Why Is It Worth Watching?
After almost five years away, the series’ long-awaited fourth season has returned, this time taking place in the harsh Arctic region of Alaska, far away from the hot and sweaty settings of earlier seasons.
The plot kicks off in the town of Ennis, where eight men working at the Tsalal Research Station unexpectedly disappear, leaving no trace at the scene, except for a woman’s severed tongue. On investigation, Chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) deduces that it belongs to an Indigenous woman. Trooper Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) believes the victim to be Anne Kowtok, an Iñupiat woman who was stabbed to death and her tongue cut out after protesting the construction of a local mine; the case remains unsolved after six years.
While Chief Danvers attempts to uncover a possible connection between Anne and one of the researchers, she gets news that a woman living on the edge of town has discovered the bodies of the researchers. How? She claims the spirit of a dead relative guided her to the spot. Raising only more questions about what’s truly happening here?