The Miniature Wife TV Review: War of the Roses meets Honey, I Shrunk the Kids in this unique dramedy

Plot: A dramedy examining the power (im)balances between spouses after a technological accident induces the ultimate relationship crisis.

Review: When Honey, I Shrunk the Kids came out in 1989, I was fascinated by the idea of shrinking down to view the world from the tiniest perspective. Seeing massive Cheerios and bugs was both terrifying and exciting to see. Now, in my mid-forties, the idea of experiencing that as an adult going through the drama of marriage seems more terrifying than exciting, but it makes for great storytelling. The new series, The Miniature Wife, puts the couple, Lindy and Les, through the trials of a marriage on the brink of collapse, while one of them is shrunk to just inches tall. Led by the great pairing of Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen with a supporting ensemble up to the task, The Miniature Wife is a unique blend of science fiction, comedy, and relationship drama that takes the madness of the classic film The War of the Roses and gives it a quirky genre twist. Way more enjoyable than I expected, The Miniature Wife is a lot of fun.

Twenty years after getting married, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lindy Littlejohn (Elizabeth Banks) and her scientist husband, Les (Matthew Macfadyen), are at a point in their relationship where couples therapy has them poised to salvage their marriage. Lindy is struggling to write something as successful as her lone novel, while Les is on the verge of perfecting a miniaturization technology that could change agriculture and world hunger forever, assuming he can figure out how to make things bigger again. Billionaire investor Hilton Smith (Ronny Chieng) and his cutthroat business partner Vivienne (Zoe Lister-Jones) give Les an ultimatum that if he cannot figure it out, they will own his patents and his formula. This new stress adds another rift between Les and Lindy, leading to a fight that ends with Lindy getting shrunk down and living in a dollhouse. While Les promises to make Lindy big again, the predicament pushes their relationship to new heights, leading the couple to try to kill each other.

The concept of a husband and wife trying to murder one another could have made for an interesting series, as could just focusing on the shrinking science aspect. By blending the two together, The Miniature Wife delicately straddles the line between ridiculous comedy and introspective relationship drama. While Les is a slave to his work and Lindy is struggling to reconcile both marriage and their daughter, Lulu (Sofia Rosinsky), not speaking to her. There are also additional rifts, including a plagiarism subplot involving Lindy, an emotional affair, and the hostile takeover of Les’ company, that add to the story’s insanity. Additional characters include Richie (O-T Fagbenle), a scientist working with Les who is an emotionally centered being, Janet (Rong Fu), who has a crush on Richie, Les’ best friend and business partner, Martin (Aasif Mandvi), and Lindy’s best friend and editor, Terry (Sian Clifford). The entire cast is composed of experienced actors with roles in comedy and drama, which helps them blend the various genres at play in The Miniature Wife.

Much like the 1989 Danny DeVito film The War of the Roses, The Miniature Wife hinges on the chemistry between Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen. The two actors share great chemistry in scenes spanning two decades. Both believably play romantic partners at the beginning and potential end of their relationship, with the murderous moments between them played at the highest level of hilarity. Elizabeth Banks spends most of the series as Lindy in a diminutive state, with flashbacks to different moments in their shared history that illustrate how these vastly different people ended up together. Matthew Macfadyen, best known for his award-winning turn in Succession, adopts an American accent and plays Les as a man struggling to find his opportunity to shine after being in the shadow of his wife’s acclaim. While the series goes from over-the-top madness to more traditional dramatic moments, both actors make you care about their characters as individuals. I kept wanting to see them get back together as much as I wanted to see them tear each other apart.

Adapted from the short story of the same name by Manuel Gonzales, The Miniature Wife was created by Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner (Goliath). The showrunners do a great job of making sure that the fantasy elements of the story do not overshadow the character drama and humor that make the series so inviting. The complex special effects needed to realistically portray humans shrunk to the tiniest size look better than in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, but are still limited by logistical challenges. Under the direction of Greg Mottola (Superbad) across multiple episodes, The Miniature Wife looks believable most of the time, though some effects are less effective than others. Moments with Elizabeth Banks suiting up for combat and complex machines to try and get at one another are highlights of the season, as are some of the quieter episodes. The penultimate episode features no genre elements and tells a straightforward story about Les and Lindy’s earlier years together that reads almost like a self-contained story and ranks as one of my favorite hours of any television show in a long time.

The Miniature Wife is much better than I expected. I was anticipating a series rooted in the ridiculous, which it is, but balanced by interesting characters and some innovative storytelling. The shrinking elements of the series work thanks to Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen sharing a realistic chemistry as a couple deeply in love who also cannot stand each other. The entire ensemble does great work in a story that could have been an utter disaster if it had not struck just the right balance of tone and genre. The Miniature Wife has some moments where the special effects are questionable, but the majority work seamlessly to make Elizabeth Banks look six inches tall. The story works as a full narrative with a satisfying conclusion, and it has a natural opening to bring it back for a second season if fans respond to it. The Miniature Wife works far better as a remake than Jay Roach’s 2024 comedy The Roses, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, which did not capture the emotional and historical weight bearing on the main characters. You may not buy into the genre elements of this series, but once you see Banks and Macfadyen in their Janet Reno costumes, you will believe in their love story.

The Miniature Wife premieres on April 9th on Peacock.