Netflix’s His & Hers told a murder mystery full of twists and turns — but who was the real murderer and how much changed from Alice Feeney‘s book?
The series, which premiered on Thursday, January 8, followed estranged married couple — journalist Anna Andrews (Tessa Thompson) and detective Jack Harper (Jon Bernthal), who return back to their hometown in Georgia to investigate a series of murders of women from their high school.
At the center of the show is the question of who was responsible for the deaths in town. Anna and Jack thought TV anchor Lexy Jones (Rebecca Rittenhouse) a.k.a Catherine Kelly — who was the unpopular girl in their high school — was to blame. Anna was saved before Lexy seemingly made her the next victim.
But a time jump one year into the future revealed a letter from Anna’s mother, Alice (Crystal Fox), who revealed she was responsible all along. Alice said she killed each of Anna’s former high school friends starting with Rachel (Jamie Tisdale) for sleeping with Jack. Then came Helen (Poppy Liu) and Zoe (Marin Ireland), before Lexy was framed by Alice.
“Once the other murders happen … I thought it was possible that Anna could have been the killer,” Bernthal told Tudum about the ending before Thompson added, “I never suspected Alice. There’s so much happening all at once.”
Thompson continued: “I was struck by how well [Oldroyd] constructed it. I felt like, ‘Oh, this is such a wild ride for an audience.’”
Executive producer William Oldroyd adapted Feeney’s novel of the same name with most of the key details remaining the same.
“Because I had not seen that twist coming. And I feel I’m pretty good at being able to tell what the twists and turns will be,” he shared. “To encounter a twist like that and then for it to be totally believable and merited and moving? I thought that was worth exploring as a TV series.”
Oldroyd called His & Hers a “love letter” to the support he received from his mom. “I feel like not only were Alice’s motives and actions justified, but that this idea of a mother’s love — everyone will understand and hopefully everyone will support her,” he added.
In the final moments of His & Hers, Anna and Alice share a look. Anna ultimately could understand the place her mother was coming from.
“It’s triumphant in some crazy, messed-up way. It’s also harrowing and twisted,” Thompson added. “It’s grounded in this mother’s profound love for her daughter. What women are capable of [doing] to protect their children is tremendous.”
Thompson concluded: “Obviously, this is an expanded version of that phenomenon, but I do love that the story is grounded in this mother’s searing love that makes her capable of violence.”
His & Hers is currently streaming on Netflix.
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