Ridiculous in premise yet humorless in execution, “His & Hers” nonetheless compels throughout its six episodes.
That’s only partly because this Netflix murder mystery offers a few genuine surprises. The greater fascination derives from watching an exceptionally talented cast try to navigate the show’s tonal obstacle course. Some make it through more cleanly than others.
Adapted by showrunners William Oldroyd and Dee Johnson from Alice Feeney’s 2020 novel, “His & Hers” presents distinct challenges to its actors by adopting a grave tone unsuited to its preposterous storylines and whodunit-hootenanny Southern cliches.
The show begins with the murder of Rachel Duffie, a well-to-do resident of Dahlonega, Georgia, a foothills tourist destination an hour from Atlanta. Thompson plays Anna Andrews, a former star Atlanta anchorwoman demoted to field reporter after disappearing from work — and the rest of her life — for a year. Anna grew up in Dahlonega, and volunteers to cover the murder case being investigated by Detective Jack Harper (Bernthal), who, we learn a few beats later, is Anna’s estranged husband.
This could be fun, right? A little “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” action, with spouses bantering and jockeying for information about the case? Bernthal and Thompson share an obvious chemistry, and “His & Hers” hints at a welcome playfulness by revealing the reporter/cop connection just after Anna has sex with someone else she just met. But the show quickly becomes irretrievably serious, despite most storylines hinging on conflicts of interest so outrageous they would only make sense in a farce.
The writers gloss over ethical problems inherent to Anna covering an investigation headed by her husband. Anna also belonged to the same high school friend group as one-time mean girl ringleader Rachel, as did Jack’s troubled sister Zoe (Marin Ireland). Jack now lives with Zoe and her young daughter, and regularly checks in on Anna’s mother, Alice (Crystal Fox), who is apparently suffering from dementia.
As a character who sometimes seems alert, other times fuzzy and always unsettled by the inconsistency, Fox gives the show’s most nuanced performance. But Alice’s circumstances, including her daughter abandoning her for a year, are gloomy, as is her house, where sunlight rarely penetrates.
No one in Dahlonega gets enough vitamin D, at least according to this show’s oppressively gray palette. It’s no wonder when the crimes in Dahlonega start to mount, alongside Anna’s and Jack’s professional improprieties and emotionally fraught exchanges.
We learn that Anna checked out of her life after a tragedy from which she is still recovering. But Thompson plays Anna as more enigmatic than long-suffering, assuming a remove that serves Anna’s air of mystery and in the long term, probably Thompson’s career as well. The flaws of “His & Hers” will not stick to Thompson, who has built a sterling reputation in both popcorn films (“Thor: Ragnarok”) and awards-caliber movies (“Hedda”).
Pablo Schreiber (“Orange is the New Black”), who plays Anna’s camera operator, and Sunita Mani (“GLOW”), as Jack’s rookie detective partner, also acquit themselves, essentially by playing it straight.
As the headmistress of an elite girls’ school, Poppy Liu takes a big swing and lands right on target. Liu, delightful as Deborah Vance’s blackjack dealer on “Hacks,” shows impressive range in playing the headmistress, Helen, as even stonier and more dismissive than she was when she attended the school and served as Rachel’s lieutenant and Zoe’s and Anna’s frenemy. Growing up apparently only steeled Helen’s resolve to be a villain.
Bernthal and Ireland also go big, but far less effectively. Fully embracing their show’s Southern setting, the actors appear locked in a six-hour audition for “Mama’s Family.”
Zoe curses, drinks too much, and when it’s time for takeout, chooses KFC, of course, before calling the fast food spot to complain about her order. Where Ireland appears to draw from the meth-feral school of rural character work, Bernthal goes macho-feral. Jack postures, threatens and otherwise bubbas it up at home with Zoe, whom he accuses of not knowing who fathered her daughter, and in the field, where he dismisses his partner’s valid concerns by big-timing her as the more experienced cop.
When you recall the subtlety Ireland brought to her co-starring role on “Sneaky Pete,” or how Bernthal’s explosiveness is so much more interesting when contained — whether on “The Punisher” or “The Bear” — it’s hard not to wince at their performances here.
Southern Gothic tendencies aside, the showrunners deserve credit for setting their show in Atlanta instead of just taking its tax credits then having it double for another city. But the Dahlonega Chamber of Commerce might want a word with “His & Hers” for portraying a real-life town known for wineries and wedding venues as a hotbed for crime and casual racism and classism.
“His & Hers” premieres Thursday, Jan. 8 on Netflix.