Matthew MacFadyen and Elizabeth Banks star in 'The Miniature Wife' and the trailer teases wild marital twist
It's not hard to think of 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' while watching the trailer of 'The Miniature Wife', Peacock's upcoming dramedy starring Matthew MacFadyen and Elizabeth Banks. Based on Manuel Gonzales' short story, a freak technological accident sees them in soup. The official logline reads, "a high-concept marital dramedy examining the power (im)balances between spouses, Lindy (Banks) and Les (Macfadyen), who battle each other for supremacy after a technological accident induces the ultimate relationship crisis."
Banks’ Lindy Littlejohn opens the clip with a neat and wholesome thought. "My husband and I, we take turns supporting each other. So he supported me through my first book, and now it’s my turn." Except it all goes horribly wrong when Macfadyen’s Les Littlejohn's 'The Miracle of Miniaturization,' supposed to help crops, shrinks his wife down to well past a few inches. "How long until you can fix me?" she asks at the end of the trailer, promising quite the laughs. The drama series is slated to premiere on April 9.
Starring alongside Macfadyen and Banks are O-T Fagbenle, Zoe Lister-Jones, Sian Clifford, Sofia Rosinsky, Ronny Chieng, Aasif Mandvi, Rong Fu, and Tricia Black. 'The Miniature Wife' was created by Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner, who also served as showrunners and executive producers. Banks, Macfadyen, Michael Aguilar, and Suzanne Heathcote also executive produce with Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer. The 10-episode series is a one-time drop on the streamer.
Earlier, Banks previewed the series during a Variety interview last year. "The writing is great, really snappy and acidic, but sort of tender as well. It’s like ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ crossed with ‘Scenes from a Marriage’. When you have something so heightened, it’s thrilling to jump in and see where it leads you," she told the outlet. Adding was Macfadyen: "When they got together, she was the star of the marriage. She wrote a semi-autobiographical book and won the Pulitzer Prize; then it was made into an Oscar-nominated film. Les, a research scientist, was thrilled for her, but he played second fiddle in the relationship."
'The Miniature Wife' has been long overdue after Peacock greenlit the series order in 2024. The show was filmed in Ontario from January 2025, with a schedule set to run through July of the same year. At the time of writing, the show is expected to be a limited one with no word on a second season. Considering it is a 10-episode affair, it is highly likely the show will be a one-season run. The project marks Macfadyen's first release of the year. His other TV show, 'A Legacy of Spies', is currently in development. As for Banks, the 'Charlie's Angels' star will next be seen in 'Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass' and psychological thriller, 'Dreamquill'. Banks became a known name for playing Chaperone Effie Trinket in the 'The Hunger Games' film series. Now, all eyes will be on how she fares in the upcoming Peacock show, along with a solid cast.
