TV Review – Mrs. Davis

Mrs. Davis (Peacock)
Written by Tara Hernandez, Damon Lindelof, Jason Lew, Alberto Roldán, Noelle Viñas, Jonny Sun, Jason Ning, and Chikira Bennett
Directed by Owen Harris, Alethea Jones, Nadra Widatalla, Frederick E.O. Toye

I can’t say that Mrs. Davis was my favorite TV series watch of 2023, but it was the most consistently surprising. From the opening sequence to the final episode, this has to be one of the most original pieces of streaming content ever made. You have Damon Lindelof bringing his mystery-centered storytelling, and Tara Hernandez adds comedy, resulting in something so hard to describe. If you have seen the trailers or even just production stills, you’re probably confused about what this show is. I will attempt to explain it without spoiling it, but it will be spoiled a bit. Going in blind is probably the best way to watch Mrs. Davis. 

In 2023, the planet is captivated by Mrs. Davis, an artificial intelligence that has reshaped how humans interact. War and famine are things of the past because Mrs. Davis provides a focus for everyone’s lives. One person refuses to engage with the A.I., Simone (Betty Glipin), a nun living in a convent in California. She claims that Mrs. Davis killed her father (David Arquette), one of many mysteries explored and unpacked throughout these eight episodes. Eventually, Simon is coerced into speaking to Mrs. Davis, and the A.I. gives her a quest: Find the Holy Grail. And once Simone does, Mrs. Davis will destroy herself. The nun decides she will try it but thinks she may get led on a wild goose chase. 

Along the way, she teams up with ex-husband and ex-rodeo cowboy Wiley (Jake McDorman), a mysterious man named Jay (Andy McQueen)who works in a diner that only exists in Simone’s mind, and Wiley’s crew of body-building bro rebels who want to destroy Mrs. Davis too. They work out of a factory that makes canned hippopotamus meat. Oh yeah, and the Knights Templar, the Vatican, and the secret order of French women are involved in the story, too. Plus, when we meet Simone, she rides on horseback across the land, stopping stage magicians from pulling cons on unsuspecting people. And then there’s the man named Schroedinger, who is stranded on a deserted island for ten years. I promise this will all make sense…or maybe it won’t. 

I get the sense that Mrs. Davis will be a polarizing show for the people who discover it. You will either like this show or absolutely hate it. I don’t think Peacock did that much promotion, as it is a limited series. There is no Mrs. Davis Season Two coming; these eight episodes tell a complete story that brings closure for all the characters involved. If there was more, it would be like someone writing another book featuring the same detective protagonist as this one. It must be a completely different mystery with a new cast of supporting characters. 

Beneath this wild exterior is a clever exploration of the borders that separate science and religion. Starting with co-creator Tara Hernandez’s frustrations with dating, she turned it all over to dating apps, and through that experience, she met her husband. She started to notice how many other people have developed what amounts to faith in the algorithm to figure things out for them, in the same way so many world religions have followers that do the same. Technology replaces spirituality without having to tweak or rebrand itself. Hernandez saw this as humanity being honest about not wanting to have to make choices in an increasingly unpredictable and frightening world.

Mrs. Davis is a show about people who hold something up as their article of faith. Many religious characters are in the show, while others don’t fully understand science but trust it as if it were their religion. Mrs. Davis has never steered them wrong, so they shut their brains off and keep going. It works out well for so many people, but it unsettles Simone. Her ex Wiley put his faith in himself as a rider of bucking broncos & his family’s wealth. One day, when those don’t provide the security he needs, Wiley has a bit of a nervous breakdown. Simone was raised by Vegas stage magicians, and that upbringing shaped how she views people. She was in on the trick; she saw that the magic was all an illusion. Yet, in a crisis during her adult life, she has a profound religious experience and moves into a convent.

The tone of Mrs. Davis is reminiscent of other Lindelof productions, with a flood of mystery and strangeness. But it also reminded me of Bryan Fuller, especially Pushing Daisies, with its oversaturated color palette and darkly upbeat cartoony universe. As the show gets closer to its finale, it gets wilder and wilder. There’s a giant whale and a suicide pyramid, and Simone manages to destroy all blind faith on the planet. You’ll have to discover how it all goes down and what it means for yourself. I can confidently say I have never seen anything quite like this show despite it reminding me of other media. While it shares traits, in the end, it is purely its own entity, a funny & endearing limited series that I recommend everyone give a chance.