Mr. & Mrs. Smith

The show replaces the glamorous white leads of the original movie with a diverse, non-traditional pairing of a black man (Donald Glover) and a half-Japanese woman (Maya Erskine). Diverse guest stars like Michaela Coel and Wagner Moura also feature. This diversity is integrated naturally into the modern city setting. It is not used to push activist ideas.

The script avoids activist lectures and political speeches. Dialogue is grounded in relationship arguments and spy tasks. There are only a few brief, casual comments about the characters' backgrounds and racial experiences. These are not presented as preachy lessons.

The show subverts traditional relationship roles. Jane is the cold, highly competent, and detached partner. John is the emotional, sensitive partner who wants a family. While this flips normal gender expectations in spy stories, the narrative focuses on the psychological details of a modern marriage rather than identity politics.

The show uses a mysterious corporate chatbot to run the spies' lives. This serves as a dark satire of modern corporate work and cold, transactional relationships. Traditional family structures are framed as unsafe or a liability, as John's desire for a normal family and his mother is treated as a risk. Still, this is written as a relationship drama rather than an angry systemic critique.

This series completely overhauls the famous 2005 movie. It swaps the white, hyper-glamorous sex symbols John and Jane Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) for average-looking, socially awkward, diverse candidates who were rejected by government agencies. While it is a total reboot rather than a direct sequel, the change to the iconic characters is a major and deliberate departure.

The show faced a clear amount of online backlash from viewers and anti-woke commentators. Critics complained about race-swapping the original characters to hit diversity targets. Others disliked that the new leads lacked the high-fashion glamour and physical sex appeal of the original film.

The creative team is a mix of moderate voices and activist writers. While creators Donald Glover (33) and Francesca Sloane (12) are moderate, the show uses highly progressive writers and directors like Carla Ching (86), Karena Evans (85), and Yvonne Hana Yi (70) who have strong records of promoting DEI and feminist themes.