I can't even come close to claiming that I can teach Netflix much – all of its driving principles are doubtless determined by people paid a huge amount more than me to steer a streaming titan successfully. Still, it's sometimes implicit that it has at least one central idea for how to make new shows work well, and it's a blindingly obvious one: cast great actors.
While it's perfectly common for its streaming shows to hit it big without necessarily having a big name to anchor things around, there's always going to need to be at least one properly reliable performer if things are going to really go well. In the case of its newest mystery thriller, His & Hers, I'm pretty confident that figure will be Jon Bernthal, one of my favourite actors.
Bernthal plays one of the two lead roles in the show, which comes to Netflix at the start of next year, on 8 January, opposite Tessa Thompson, who's also capable of excellent performances when she puts her mind to it. They play a couple who clearly have their differences, both in the thick of a murder investigation in what looks like a relatively rural community.
Thompson plays a reporter who's keen to chase the case down, while Bernthal is the local cop assigned to it, and it sure seems like they both have secrets about their motivations. Affairs, disloyalty, anger and resentment are all bubbling up and influencing matters, and it looks like there will be more suspects than you could throw a ring around, including both of the main characters.
Really, though, if I end up watching His & Hers, it'll be down to Bernthal. He's a magnetic performer who might be a little typecast at times (when is he not troubled, for example?) but always seems to elevate the material he's given. His cameo appearances in The Bear are always touching, and this should give him more time to own the screen himself.
Plus, of course, the best streaming service always needs new material, so it's good to see Netflix aiming to follow up a beefy December with more goodies in the new year.
