HOLLYWOOD—Almost everyone one that I have spoken to in the last 2 weeks have asked me if I watched the Netflix mini-series “His & Hers.” My immediate response was no. Why? I’m not the biggest fan of Netflix and a lot of the movies and series on the streaming service. The content tends to be mediocre, B-movie content at best.
I’m glad I took some time when I couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night to watch “His & Hers” because I was quite satisfied for about 85 percent of the series. I will explain my trepidation for not giving it a top tier review because I have my qualms. However, this mystery/thriller does a terrific job of hooking you within 10 minutes of the first episode, by the end of the first episode you’re at a loss for words.
The series follows an estranged married couple, Anna Andrews (Tessa Thompson) and Detective Jack Harper (Jon Bernthal). You might be asking questions about why this two is estranged, there is plenty of meat and potatoes when it comes to them, and I don’t want to spoil it, but as the narrative unfold, it makes perfect sense. Thompson and Bernthal have fantastic chemistry together. You believe them as a married couple in crisis and on the verge of breaking into a million pieces.
Anna has been estranged from her hometown of Dahlonega, Georgia, and as a reporter she is brought back into the spotlight when she learns about a murder that has transpired in town, and it just happens to be someone who she knows quite well from her childhood. As a reporter, her instincts kick in immediately to start connecting the dots and looking for potential suspects. That murder starts to get everyone in town to start talking and that notion of a secret being harbored starts to come to light and it’s captivating to witness.
Who is holding a secret and how big is that secret? Not to mention the series does a stellar job of making you question every single person you see on the screen. I was certain I knew the killer after the end of episode one, but then, more curveballs are thrown that make you start to scratch your head and say, “Maybe not.”
I love that the series is only 6 episodes. It’s an easy watch, that clocks in a little over 40 mins for each episode, so you can easily binge the entire series in about 4 to 5 hours. Here’s the bad part of the series, around episode 4, I started to have an idea of what was happening and the pieces of the puzzle started to close in and I was not stunned by where it ended, but I was surprised by the culprit behind the focal murder that sets everything in motion, and precisely what the audience perceives to be true, and have it flipped on its head.
There is a strong supporting cast of mysterious characters that include Jamie Tisdale, Chris Bauer, Poppy Lui, Marin Ireland, Crystal Fox, Pablo Schreiber and Rebecca Rittenhouse. It is fun to see Jack in conflict with his partner Priya Patel, who is starting to put the puzzle together, but has to question rather her partner is culpable or hiding secrets to protect himself or someone he cares about.
As a viewer you do become easily sutured with the drama, deceit, and duplicity taking place on “His & Hers,” but at the same time it feels a bit of an elongated soap-opera with more exciting and fun twists, but things that also feel predictable. I caught myself a few times saying, “I’ve seen this before,” but I was still along for the ride. “His & Hers” is that adult thriller that everyone is talking about and rightfully so. It’s fun, its twisty and it captivates your attention at the same time.
