Reimagining the beloved Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie spy romance world was no easy task. But that’s exactly what Prime Video series producer Francesa Sloane thinks Mr and Mrs Smithassumed.
In this version, Donald Glover and Maya Erskine play John Smith and Jane Smith, respectively, to Pitt and Jolie. A new group of super spies gain these aliases after joining a mysterious secret agency. Oh, and they now find themselves in arranged marriages and forced partnerships. This setting alone is enough to fill the writer’s mind with various possibilities. So many metaphors to explore!
Sloan is a writer and producer who has produced some of television’s best shows, including Fa Ge, Atlantaand first onebringing complex characters to life in unparalleled circumstances. ScreenCraft caught up with Sloan to talk about her work on the show and how she pulled off this amazing story. Here’s what we learned!
Using relationships as narrative structure
In the writers’ room, Sloan and her team had to figure out how to tell the story. The good thing about them is that viewers at least know something to expect – the show will tell the story of a couple who both work as spies. But how can they put a new spin on it and tell the story over a few episodes?
“We would talk about our own relationships,” Sloan said, “and that always felt like the toughest issue. It always felt like the moment when we were both invested.
As writers, we should follow this intuition. What do we most want to explore? It felt like a natural thread began to pull, Sloan said.
“So every time we depicted and went too far in a plot or something that felt more like a spy type thing, Stephen [Glover] Especially always saying, ‘This is about relationships, man, this is about relationship milestones.’ That’s always been the clearest thing to me,” Sloan said.
As a relationship develops, couples encounter many natural moments. For example, first date, first kiss, meeting each other’s family, etc. So here’s the way to get in Mr and Mrs Smith– A series of stories centered around a couple’s new relationship, offering a very unique twist on familiar beats.
For example, what if these characters had to protect a crying grown man in their custody—like two new parents with a toddler? Should they talk about children? Can they start arguing about parenting?
“When we had this idea, the whole world opened up,” Sloan said.
If you’re having trouble telling a story, try looking at it from a different perspective. Take a look at your story beats and see if they reflect real-life beats in any way. Then give them your own style.
Read more: How to Create Compelling Romance in Movies
Build your character arc
In this play, the characters present themselves as essentially opposites. Sloan notes that Jane is quiet, alert and “cat-like,” while John has more of a golden retriever’s energy.
As they fall in love with each other, they learn more about themselves together with the audience, which is very compelling in the story and allows them to grow as characters.
“Falling in love with John shows [Jane] She had never experienced a side of herself in these extremely high-stakes situations before,” she said. “It was really beautiful to see her walls come down little by little, but also how scared she was about it.”
Making Jane a covert character also fits the expectations of the spy genre – typically, Sloane said, the man is mysterious and aloof. So where can you swap roles in a fun way?
It’s also a good idea to take your characters outside of their physical comfort zones and put them in new situations to challenge and expose them. In this play, the writers threw John and Jane into the Dolomites.
“We take you to this amazing place, and then we take this person who doesn’t know how to ski,” Sloan said. She added, “For us, it feels like a really fun component of getting to know the person you’re dating for the first time and seeing other sides of them.”
Giving your characters weaknesses, physical or otherwise, doesn’t make them any less relatable to the audience. It actually makes them fuller, more interesting people. After all, we could all be James Bond.
‘gentlemen. and Mrs. Smith (2024)
Push the relationship to a low point
You see, we watch movies and TV shows for the drama. When one character betrays another, or a piece of dialogue is too honest, we want to gasp in shock as a story gives us unexpected revelations.
If we were enjoying a romantic spy thriller like this Mr and Mrs Smithand then we’re here for the ups and downs of a fledgling relationship, and all the beautiful and horrific things two people can do to each other. Don’t pass up these opportunities as a writer!
Sloane tells us about a big fight in the woods in episode six.
“We knew we needed John and Jane to finally have a big fight,” she said.
The story opens with John admitting that he lied about reading a book when they first met, a scene that quickly turns into a devastating, wide-ranging argument about their parents, gender, and more.
Sloan attacks this scene as a writer, considering how the characters jump between accusations and insults.
“We almost turned it into a song,” she said. “We were like, ‘Okay, these are the lyrics for the rest of the chorus, and now that we’re in the chorus, we need to go back to another moment.'”
‘gentlemen. and Mrs. Smith (2024)
Sloane said it was actually her favorite scene.
“To me, I think that’s probably one of the most authentic moments on the show,” she said.
This is also a great example of plants and giving back! Not only was the previous conversation the basis for the ugly fight, but Jane was also seen watching naked and scared Early on in the season – that’s basically the situation the characters find themselves in.
Read more: How ‘How We End’ differs from most modern romance movies
