Donald Glover and Maya Erskine on their own are forces to be reckoned with in Prime Video‘s Mr. and Mrs. Smith. But when they have to face off against one another, things really heat up.
Created by Glover and Francesca Sloane — the two previously collaborated on the hit FX series Atlanta —Mr. and Mrs. Smith follows two strangers who are paired as a married couple as they both begin new careers as spies. Known as John and Jane Doe, they are forced to get close to one another as they face the world’s criminal underbelly together. Throughout the eight-episode series, Glover and Erskine are part of this delicate dance between strangers, not knowing how close one can get or if they can trust one another. As their bond grows, they evolve into a butt-kicking duo who eventually fall in love and, as always, that’s when the stakes are highest.
“Getting to know each other to find that trust was a very fun process. Maya is very professional so it was very easy to do all those things because it was friendly,” Glover said during a conversation at Deadline Studio at Prime Experience.
Watch the interview here and see photos from the event below.
“It was friendly. It was easy-going at first but we still had our like, ‘I’m Maya, I’m Donald [moments].’ But I feel like when we did the subway scene in the first episode, we started sharing embarrassing stories about one another,” Erskine said.
Glover replied, “Yes, embarrassing stories about growing up which I think always ties people together.”
“It was like, ‘Oh, I can say that and you like me still?’ ” added Erskine.
The evolution of these seemingly ordinary people with extraordinary talent proves how masterful both Glover and Sloane have become at highlighting the everyday man that otherwise can be underestimated.
“Fran and I really bonded writing Atlanta and one of the things we always talked about was under-promise over-deliver. I feel like people are underestimated in general, but it’s also way more enjoyable,” Glover shared. “Even with this show, I think people had an idea of what it was going to be [who later said], ‘This isn’t what I expected.’ I think it’s easier to surprise people because the audience is way more nuanced and like, not even just more intelligent, but just like more grown up. I think we’ve just seen a lot of TV by this point, so I think yeah, that’s part of the process.”
Donald Glover and Maya Erskine
Michael Buckner for Deadline
Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane
Michael Buckner for Deadline
Donald Glover
Michael Buckner for Deadline
Maya Erskine
Michael Buckner for Deadline
Francesca Sloane
Michael Buckner for Deadline
Added Sloane: “Yeah, I agree. I think audiences are a lot smarter than sometimes people give them credit for. One of the things that really makes me excited to work with both of them is that one of the languages that has evolved over time in terms of art and TV and film, is that it just has to evoke a feeling. And as long as you evoke a feeling you can kind of get away with the rest. [Glover] of all people is so good at that. It’s like, what is the feeling? What are you walking away feeling? So, sticking to that.”
The Season 1 ending left the mystery of whether John and Jane survive and find some sort of happily ever after for themselves (whatever that looks like), or whether they died, open-ended. Glover shared what it would take for the story to continue.
“We don’t know but it really depends on whether or not we win an Emmy,” joked Glover. “If we win, we kind of have to do something, right?”
For more Deadline Studio at Prime Experience content, click here.
