This review was made possible by advanced screeners for His & Hers provided by Netflix for review.
It’s starting to feel like a yearly tradition with Netflix kicking off the year with a thriller/mystery. It’s usually a Harlan Coben adaptation, and if you’re missing that, then don’t worry, Netflix still has you sorted, but it’s not the only thriller/mystery that gets to take all the attention for the month of January.
The one thing that I’m able to at least confirm is that it’s a level above those Harlan Coben adaptations where you’re likely to have guessed how it ends before you’ve reached the final episode. I can guarantee that with His & Hers, the final reveal will have you shocked and talking with all your friends, whether it’s gotten you by surprise or just by how unbelievable it is.
A Twisted Small-Town Mystery
His & Hers is a murder mystery thriller that’s developed by William Oldroyd with Dee Johnson acting as showrunner. Based on the Alice Feeney novel of the same name, which follows Jack Harper, a detective from Lumpkin County, who gets thrown into a case that involves a local woman. Unfortunately for him, his wife, Anna, a reporter, returns, and they both end up looking like prime suspects in the case.
A murder mystery that’s starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal is already the perfect recipe to get people glued to their TVs. The question that needs to be asked is, does His & Hers have a good enough mystery to keep our attention? Thankfully, I believe it does. From the very start, audiences are led to believe that both Jack and Anna have a hand in the mystery, and whether they do or not isn’t revealed until the very last episode.
His & Hers is a show that keeps you on the edge of your seat from its Episode 1 cliffhanger until the final monologue that reveals all. It’s hard to talk about the mystery without giving away too many spoilers, but as each episode passes, more suspects get added to the list and more murders take place in Lumpkin County.
There’s no doubt that some viewers are going to feel like the conclusion of Episode 5 into Episode 6 might feel slightly rushed with how they conclude the story and unfold the events of Hannah’s death but personally, its pacing is what allows for the grand reveal to be as good as it is. It’s a mystery that wraps itself in past trauma, betrayal and secrets that have come from the past to haunt them.
Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson at the Centre
Have you ever thought what it would be like to have Marvel’s Punisher and Valkyrie in a series together? Well, neither have I and His & Hers doesn’t really sell that idea, but it does sell the idea of having both Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson in more projects together.
Bernthal plays a detective who has stayed in the small town of Lumpkin County after going through a tragedy with his estranged wife, Anna. He finds himself on the case of Hannah’s death, which soon begins to become a problem when he realises that his connection to Hannah may make him look as the number 1 suspect. Jack is determined to solve the case, but unfortunately doesn’t think with his head first and gets himself into a lot of problems that will make you struggle to watch as he continues to make idiotic mistakes.
Tessa Thompson, on the other hand, plays this reporter who, after going through the same tragedy as Jack, struggles with life. She vanishes, loses her job title and has to fight with the trauma from her past that continues to haunt her and is coming back to bite fast with Hannah’s death, which puts her at the centre of it all. Tessa Thompson delivers a raw, strong and emotional performance with Anna as her past comes to light and she deals with her relationships with her mother, Alice and estranged husband, Jack.
Together, both Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson’s performances and chemistry can be felt through the screen. Before all is revealed with their history, we’re able to feel the upset, the anger and the love that they have for each other despite the actions they’ve committed to one another. Thompson can feel miscast at times but when the show gets back on track and she’s paired with Bernthal, it makes up for the slight issues that His & Hers can fall into.
‘His & Hers’ – Final Thoughts
His & Hers is a quick binge on Netflix with six episodes and is absolutely worth the time. If you’re a mother (or a father), you’ll struggle to hold back tears but you won’t be able to help yourself and push through to see the mystery resolved. It’s a tad better than the usual murder mystery’s we get from Netflix at the start of the year as it leaves you guessing until the final moments in what I’d call a jaw-dropping final reveal.
His & Hers is now streaming on Netflix. Check out a trailer below:
