When John and Jane Smith of Mr. & Mrs. Smith interview to be spies at the beginning of the new Prime Video series starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, they’re both short on job prospects. After they each answer questions from a mysterious computer terminal—a process that includes depositing their nail clippings and divulging their relationship and work history—they’re hired. At the cost of getting married to a total stranger, leaving their old lives behind, and signing on for violent and risky work, their new undercover identities afford them a luxurious lifestyle. Among the new job perks is a well-appointed New York City brownstone, already decorated by their mysterious employer.
Built out on a soundstage, with a real West Village brownstone used for exteriors, the property is the ultimate trophy house—beautiful but excessive. “Nobody understands how you were permitted to build it,” a neighbor remarks to John. “You combined two historical brownstones into one, which is unheard of, you added a garage and a pool, which alone would cost anyone $25 million if the city would even allow for it.” Hmm.
Among the home’s many amenities (beyond the subterranean pool and garage) are a wine cellar, a screening room, a rooftop composter fancy enough to warrant a discussion on compost Reddit, and an eye-catching “water bar” created specifically for the show. A character’s living space may typically be mostly incidental to the plot, but in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the brownstone’s grandiosity is regularly referenced and stands as a central symbol of the pair’s new lifestyle, making it all the more important that the art department got the tone right. “The house is really current and beautiful and lavish, but it’s not at all your typical New York town house,” says set decorator Michael Nallan, who worked on the show from episode two onward.