Dark Comedy Binges: Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Bodkin

Yes, I watched even more TV last month, so if you're already done with my last slew of recommendations, I'm back with two more twisty and funny shows for you to binge. Ready, set, find your remote!

Mr. & Mrs. Smith: What an absolute delight. This show is inspired by the fairly insipid action spy comedy from 2005, so I figured it would be a diverting bit of fluff. But given that it stars Donald Glover, who co-created the show with Francesca Sloane (a former writer on the weird and wonderful Atlanta, who serves as the showrunner here), I should have known better. 

Glover and Maya Erskine star as the titular couple. They both separately interviewed with a shadowy organization to be secret agents, and were then told they would be living undercover with each other as a married couple, with the aliases of John and Jane Smith. They move into an insanely impressive brownstone in New York City (they even have a plunge pool - what largesse!) and start getting instructions from their mysterious overlords. Each of the eight episodes feature different missions that could be as simple as intercepting a package, or going to Italy to protect an asset from violent gunmen hellbent on killing them all. The action sequences are always thrilling and inspired, and the locales get increasingly more elaborate and beautiful. But what is more exciting than each mission of the week, is the overarching story of this couple as they navigate their intense relationship.

At the beginning, John and Jane want to keep it strictly professional. Well, that doesn't last very long - in their line of work, it's a bit hard to maintain boundaries. What follows is a deliriously funny but also very astutely observed relationship as the two get to know each other and develop a delicious rapport. Erskine and Glover are such incredible actors, and this show takes full advantage of their acting range and prowess. The scripts also feel so true to life, with the two of them having meandering conversations, making each other laugh, and falling in love over such seemingly simple nonsense. Of course, they also have major problems, and one of the show's highlights is Episode 6, when John and Jane go to couples counselling and have very convoluted conversations with a therapist where they can't reveal what they do for a living.

This show is effortlessly engaging and I desperately hope there will be a second season. But if there isn't, it's an absolutely perfect single season that you must devour immediately. It contains a multitude of genres and human emotions and will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. It also features a brilliant supporting cast, with famous names popping in to just do one episode before they are either helped or killed by the Smiths. So are you not intrigued? Start bingeing!

Bodkin: Created by Jez Scharf, this is a dark and funny mystery about a cold case in a beautiful Irish town named Bodkin that turns out to maybe not be so cold. Will Forte stars as Gilbert Power, an American podcaster who desperately needs a new hit and has decided that this trip to Bodkin and investigating the mysterious disappearance of three people during the Samhain festival. As far as he is concerned, he is less interested in solving this case than delving into the local characters and collecting some kitschy ambiance for his listeners. 

Gilbert is assisted by Emma Sizergh (Robyn Cara), a young British journalist who is eager to learn more and further her own career. Unfortunately, he is also accompanied by Dubheasa "Dove" Maloney (Siobhan Cullen), an Irish investigative journalist who is not thrilled about helping this clueless man but has reasons she needs to leave London for a bit. She is supremely uninterested in making a fluffy podcast, and instead, starts to dig up dirt on the inhabitants of Bodkin. This means things quickly start to take a dark and murderous turn.

If you're a fan of true crime podcasts and British comedy, this show offers up a neat little satire with an actual mystery to boot. I will confess, the plot was entirely too convoluted for me, featuring a whole mess of characters and tangled motives and alibis that I'm not sure I fully reconciled by the end. There are also a lot of nuns, which may or may not be a selling point. But this show is only a seven-episode commitment and features stunning Irish scenery with many fun accents. Sometimes, all you want is to lie back with a show where a bunch of sweary and grumpy townspeople are ganging up on the American, and this show delivers that in spades. And for some reason, the Obamas are executive producers on this show, so you might as well give it a shot!