Mr. and Mrs. Smith (8-episode season streaming on Amazon Prime; it came out in February, but was recently renewed for a second season) shares only the names and part of the concept of the 2005 movie, and otherwise takes the premise of married spies in a very different direction. Donald Glover and Maya Erskine play marriage partners and spy partners, not entirely by choice — they’ve signed on to a mysterious agency performing missions for “Hihi,” their handler of unknown identity who communicates only via computer screen. On their first day, they individually walk into their enormous brownstone apartment, meet for the first time, and are told they’re now John and Jane Smith, and they’re married. They treat this at first with bemusement — no kissing, no sex, let’s just make money — before life-and-death situations start to make them wonder whether they have real feelings amidst all the lies they’re forced to tell (like cutting off all ties to their previous identities).

The show feels like a commentary on modern dating — hello, you’ve signed up for the app, exchange some pleasantries with this attractive person, you are now married and must build a life together. The entire recruitment process of applicants being asked random questions and not knowing anything at all about their partner (except being told to trust that Hihi would make the right match) felt the right kind of alienating. I enjoyed that the show is episodic, with each episode focused on one element of their very tumultuous partnership (the episodes are titled “Do You Want Kids?” and “Infidelity” and such) while building on each other to tell about their relationship as a whole.

I need to emphasize that everybody looks fiiiiine on this show.

The series has some good comedic elements, but its humor runs darker and its heavier moments hit harder. It’s not light and fun in the same way the movie was — it’s fairly violent and the show goes to some dark places in their relationship — but I appreciated the show seriously exploring the concept of “what if you were married to a stranger?” and “what kind of person makes this deal?” Glover and Erskine are excellent at portraying people who are damaged in different ways, and they’re great at delivering the show’s “nervous laughter” jokes.

In fact, the chemistry of the leads makes for a compelling reason to watch. Glover balances charisma, goofiness, and danger; conversely, Erskine radiates a professional demeanor, a cold remove, and stifled rage. Yet their tangled relationship is believable; when they open up to each other, it rings true, and when they argue with each other, their connection has been sufficiently built up that they know how to hurt each other. The show is enhanced by a cavalcade of guest stars; the first two episodes include Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, and John Turturro, and other recognizable names appear throughout the season.

Oh no, more mail for the Smiths at 802 Portage Street, we’re the Smiths at 208 Portage Street.

The show does have some weirdness about the worldbuilding, though. Their mystery organization apparently assigns every agent the name John and Jane Smith, which seems like an enormous liability when you have more than one couple operating in the same city (which the show even calls attention to!). Furthermore, some of the fancier parts of their lifestyle are incongruous enough to the world around them that it’s very easy to recognize something is off with the Smiths, and their weak cover story seems flimsily easy to poke holes through (which, again, the show calls attention to!). Is this supposed to be the fault of the organization, or are these story elements just not thought through? The show was recently renewed for a second season, so answers might be coming, but at the same time, I think not having firm answers contributes to the show’s feeling of being constantly off-balance.

If you are looking for more of the loose, fun goofiness of the original Mr. and Mrs. Smith, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you’re looking for something a little more cerebral and violent, something that pushes a little harder… then Hihi has a message for you.