As a fan of any kind of story set in small towns and cities, the boom in shows of this sort seemed like it was catered towards me. But I quickly came to the realization that the setting was no guarantee for quality storytelling. All the way back in 2021, we got something as masterful as Midnight Mass as well as the awful The Last Hour. In 2022, there was Suzhal—The Vortex at one end of the spectrum and The Essex Serpent at the other. In 2023, Kaala Paani set a new standard for Indian television, while School of Lies dragged it back to square one. The only real highlight of 2024 was The Sticky, and the rest was simply forgettable. The subgenre really blew up in 2025 with stuff like Adolescence, Secrets We Keep, The Survivors, Untamed, Task, and The Beast in Me. 2026’s proceedings have been kicked off by Run Away and Land of Sin, but in my humble opinion, it’s His & Hers that’s triumphantly taken the cake. Does that mean it’s worth a watch, though? Let’s find out.
Anja Marquardt and William Oldroyd’s His & Hers, adapted from Alice Feeney’s novel of the same name by Oldroyd, Bill Dubuque, Dee Johnson, and Tori Sampson, tells the story of Anna, the former star anchor of WSK-TV, as she returns to her dingy apartment in Atlanta in a huff right after a murder has occurred in her hometown, Dahlonega. The following day, Lumpkin County Sheriff Jack and his professional partner, Priya, arrive at the crime scene and start investigating. Every time Priya makes a suggestion about how they should proceed with the task at hand, Jack shuts her down, thereby making it seem like he has some kind of a personal stake in this case. In the meantime, Anna meets up with her former boss, Jim, and requests that he let her cover the murder as a field reporter. Since she doesn’t have a job, it seems like a desperate attempt to earn some money. When Anna asks if Richard can be her cameraman, it feels like she is trying to get back at Lexy, given how Richard is her husband, for taking her “star anchor” post. However, when Anna reaches Dahlonega and starts grilling Jack, it becomes apparent her connection to the murder is deeper than it seems at first glance.
His & Hers is definitely not here to reinvent the wheel; it’s here to capitalize on this ongoing trend of murder mysteries or crime dramas set in small towns. Sure, the narrative covers topics like racism, classism, misogyny, internalized misogyny, infidelity, guilt, trauma, and more. But I feel that neither Feeney’s novel nor the screenplay is all that serious about their commentary on those subjects. It seems like the writers are aware of the fact that if your story has these elements in it, people will take you seriously, thereby allowing them to repurpose some dated revenge drama tropes that would have been scoffed at if they were presented in a more straightforward fashion. I mean, there are countless stories of a man avenging his loved one by going on an elaborate quest of vengeance, and the final message is usually about the futility of revenge and whatnot. And, yes, it’s true, because there are too many roaming around who think vigilante justice is great because there’s nothing they can do to fix the judiciary or law enforcement. However, that message seems like a joke when you see it through the POV of women for whom, in this day and age, pure and unadulterated vengeance is the only way left for them to get any kind of justice.
At the cost of sounding repetitive, no, His & Hers doesn’t want to be taken all that seriously, and it’s not endorsing femme vigilante justice, but it’s kind of casting out that theory into the ether to see what people think about it. And just to make sure that viewers don’t “get the wrong message,” Marquardt, Oldroyd, and everyone in charge of what we are seeing and hearing on-screen work together to create this pulpy, sultry, steamy, controversial, suspenseful, and even somewhat campy atmosphere. Seriously, the handling of the tone is really great, and once you have all the pieces and you rewatch the whole show with that new context, I think you’ll appreciate it even more. The lighting and compositions throughout the show are exquisite, especially during the nighttime sequences. Hey, it’s not my fault that the bar is so low that having legible scenes set at night compels me to applaud the crew. But yes, the show is a visual feast. The costume design, production design, art direction, score, soundtrack, editing, and cinematography—it’s all top-notch. There’s an action sequence towards the tail end of the show that comes out of nowhere and leaves you shocked. I did find the pacing to be a little inconsistent, but I think a rewatch could fix that. Also, the performances extracted from the cast by Marquardt and Oldroyd are out of this world.
Jon Bernthal is excellent. I just love the way he elevates any and every dialogue scene because he doesn’t give his scene partner a whole lot of breathing space. In most cases that’d be annoying. But due to the kind of material he’s working with, it makes the interactions so organic while also giving us a peek into his characters’ restless nature. Tessa Thompson is simply fantastic. I am guilty of not keeping up with all the amazing work that Tessa has done over the last few years. But yeah, if you know Tessa only from her appearances in all that Marvel stuff, prepare to be blown away. There’s a scene between Bernthal and Thompson near a waterfall, and it’s one for the history books. Pablo Schreiber is splendid, as always. Marin Ireland, I feel, is one of the most underrated actors of our time (everyone, please, go and watch Birth/Rebirth). Priya Patel is so good! She even gets a “Forget it, Jake. It’s “Chinatown”” moment with Bernthal. Crystal Fox is the ace up the show’s sleeve; keep an eye out for her. Rebecca Rittenhouse, despite her limited screentime, delivers an impactful performance. The same can be said about Poppy Liu. I wish Jamie Tisdale had more scenes, given how integral she is to the show. Chris Bauer is hilarious. Ellie Rose, Kristen Maxwell, Izzy Kusman, Leah Merritt, Tiffany Ho, and Astrid Rotenberry deserve a shoutout each. The rest of the supporting cast is really solid as well.
His & Hers is definitely an entertaining watch, and I highly recommend giving it a try regardless of your affinity for violence and revenge. My opinions on those two topics are ever-changing based on the times we are living in. If things are relatively peaceful—which hasn’t been the case for quite a while—I look down upon stories that tell people to take matters into their own hands because the system has failed them. When the situation isn’t peaceful—as has been the case for quite a while—I am inclined to support a call to arms, because what other choice do we have in a patriarchal society where even women have been brainwashed into protecting abusive men? Of course, nothing that we see in this show is practically possible, but it makes you think a little about why the concept of vengeance has been purposefully belittled. Well, because certain people know that if the common public begins seeking revenge for the grave injustices that have been done to them, it is going to dismantle the structures that support them and their illicit activities. Hence, maybe it’s time to ask if righteous retribution is truly futile or not.
