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Emily Bernard is a Features Editor and Peer Mentor for Collider who studied History, Playwriting, and English at the University of Scranton. She’s a proud comedy nerd who loves getting into the nitty gritty of a joke and how it came to be, and she's interviewed several of her favorite comedians, including Tig Notaro, Hannah Einbinder, John Early, Julio Torres, Patton Oswalt, Ego Nwodim, Aidy Bryant, and Please Don’t Destroy. Emily’s not totally sure how she feels about this whole "writing in the third person" thing, but it sounds more professional, so she's going to stick with it.
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Every week, a new crime or murder mystery thriller show is hitting a streaming platform. 2025 alone brought Adolescence, Task, Black Rabbit, Murdaugh: Death in the Family, All Her Fault, The Beast in Me, and The Lowdown, in addition to new seasons of established favorites like Slow Horses and The Night Agent. There's just something about solving a crime from the comfort of your couch or bed that remains wildly appealing and endlessly addictive.
Netflix's new limited series His & Hers attempts to — and largely succeeds in — satisfying your amateur sleuthing desires, centering around a mysterious murder case in a small town that becomes increasingly complex over the course of its six episodes. Despite some pacing issues and at times overcrowded plot points, Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson deliver sharp performances from start to finish in a series that's bound to keep you truly guessing until the very, very end.
What Is Netflix's 'His & Hers' About?
Image via NetflixBased on New York Times bestselling author Alice Feeney's 2020 mystery thriller of the same name, His & Hers follows the intertwining perspectives of two individuals circling an unsolved criminal case in Dahlonega, Georgia. Nothing normally happens in a town so small and cozy, so seemingly simple and straightforward, so when a murder is reported, word and rumors spread fast and wide, and the narrative quickly becomes murky. This is especially true when it's the body of a woman who's been stabbed 40 times on the hood of a car in the woods during a rainstorm. This wasn't an accident — this was a deliberate, brutal act of passion.
The thriller opens on the bludgeoned, soaking-wet body of Rachel Hopkins (Jamie Tisdale), followed by an eerie narration from Thompson's Anna that immediately sets the tone: "There are at least two sides to every story. Yours and mine, ours and theirs, his and hers. Which means someone is always lying." Given the fact that Anna has just burst into her apartment, visibly stressed and also dripping wet, we're led to believe she's in some way tied to the crime at the center of the story. (She is, of course, but not necessarily in the way you'd expect.)
This ominous opening is smartly juxtaposed with our introduction to the man at the center of the story, Jack Harper, played by Bernthal. He's big and imposing, but he's quick to soften around his niece, Meg (Ellie Rose Sawyer), and cares deeply about his sister, Zoe (Marin Ireland), who is the furthest thing from reliable, trustworthy, or stable. Jack's got his shit together — so we think — and as the County Sheriff in Dahlonega, his life becomes consumed by trying to solve this murder mystery. Jack's confidence and intimidating disposition are visibly rattled when a crime scene reporter asks him whether he personally knew the victim. That reporter is none other than Anna, who also happens to be Jack's estranged wife.
Netflix's 'His & Hers' Unravels a Winding, Unpredictable Story
If you love a show with twists and turns, then His & Hers doesn't disappoint. While the murder is obviously what will draw you in, it's the deeply complicated, mysterious, and baggage-filled dynamic between Anna and Jack that'll really keep your attention. Yes, we want to discover who committed this heinous act, but what quickly becomes the most interesting part of the narrative is Anna and Jack's strained relationship and shared trauma. Following the reveal that Jack and Anna are actually married, the show reveals that Anna's trying to rebuild her career and reputation as a reporter in Atlanta, where she used to be the trusted face of the news — that is, before a tragic incident that not only triggered her emotional and mental breakdown, but also forced Jack to start a new life in Dahlonega. They might've physically separated, but what they went through binds them together for life. Despite this, there are still so many things that Anna and Jack go out of their way to keep from each other.
One of the most intriguing elements of the series is the use of flashbacks that teach us not only who the victim, Rachel, was in high school, but how she's connected to Anna. Isabelle Kusman perfectly embodies the ultimate high school mean girl, asserting her dominance in the lunchroom of the prestigious all-girls establishment. The way she toys with a socially awkward and friend-deprived classmate Catherine (Astrid Rotenberry), belongs in a horror movie, while Kristen Maxwell's portrayal of a teen Anna will make you question everything you thought you knew about her in the present. Aside from giving the audience more context for the murder mystery, the flashbacks actually end up being the most important part of the puzzle.
His & Hers sometimes struggles to balance its crime story with exploring Anna and Jack's relationship, but the glue that holds these two parallel storylines together is Jack's increasingly suspicious partner on the case, Priya (Sunita Mani). Over the course of six episodes, Mani evolves from a wide-eyed sidekick into someone who realizes her boss might not be the upstanding man she thought he was. She serves as the audience surrogate, questioning Jack's not-so-subtle changes in body language when he's asked, for instance, to give a DNA sample. Pretty soon, it feels as though Priya is the only character viewers can trust at all.
'His & Hers' Shows a Compelling New Side of Jon Bernthal
Image via NetflixJon Bernthal fans have come to expect some trademarks from a Jon Bernthal performance — a commanding presence, a vein-popping bellow at someone who so much as threatens to cross him or anyone he loves, a head tilt and squint, and a whole lot of machismo. Between his brilliant work as The Punisher in the MCU and performances in projects like The Bear, The Accountant 2, and The Walking Dead, Bernthal has cornered the market on "don't mess with me" energy. All of this is fittingly on full display in His & Hers, but it's just a fraction of what he brings to the role.
Bernthal deftly navigates the wide range of emotions that Jack experiences in His & Hers, whether that be rage, paranoia, or sheer panic as more connections are made and steps are retraced. One of his most impressive moments in the series comes from his tender scenes with Thompson as their characters reflect on what they've been through. In Episode 4, the two share a devastating, yet cathartic heart-to-heart when they finally let what has remained unsaid flow without abandon. Tears are shed, admissions are made, and Jack's hard exterior softens, revealing even more of what Bernthal is capable of. The same goes for his interactions with Ireland, who plays Jack's jaded and directionless sister who tends to prioritize drinking over keeping a close eye on her daughter. As the story gains momentum and revelations come to light, Zoe becomes a far more integral figure, while Ireland goes from being woefully underused to wowing in every scene she's in, whether she's yelling with Bernthal or all alone in a dark house.
His & Hers only works if it has two equally strong leads shepherding the story. Fortunately, Thompson's performance is as chilling as it is seductive, never allowing viewers to fully grasp whether Anna is, for all intents and purposes, “good” or “bad.” Her character is trying to regain her status as the Atlanta news “it” girl, and this means doing whatever it takes to get back on air. There was a time when taking Dahlonega would be considered beneath her, but now it’s the only thing she can hold onto. As we learn about exactly why she lost her position at the station and status as a reporter, your heart breaks, though her sneaky attempts to reclaim the crown distort perception and add layers to such a stoic woman who has clearly lost any remaining fucks to give.
Despite an Overstuffed Finale, 'His & Hers' Remains an Engaging Watch
Image via NetflixIf you're the type of TV detective who likes to trace a clear line back through episodes to solve the mystery, the His & Hers finale might seem a little frustrating. While some of the clues are there all along, two major reveals in the back half of the series seem too conveniently withheld from the audience and the characters until the last minute. All that aside, the final two episodes are also the most action-packed and full of surprises.
While Netflix's latest entry in the murder mystery genre doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel, His & Hers will keep audiences invested in the story until those end credits roll. Bernthal and Thompson lead the viewer through a twisty narrative that surprisingly tugs at your heartstrings and leaves you wondering if there's anyone — anywhere — that you can actually trust.
Release Date January 8, 2026
Network Netflix
Directors William Oldroyd
Pros & Cons
- Jon Bernthal gets to play a softer side of himself we don't often see.
- His & Hers goes beyond a murder mystery to also explore the shared emotional history between Tessa Thompson's Anna and Bernthal's Jack.
- Major plot points feel too conveniently saved for the finale.
English (US) ·