The Miniature Wife is a 2026 American science fiction romantic comedy drama television series created by Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner for Peacock. It is based on the 2013 short story by Manuel Gonzalez. The series stars Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen and premiered on April 9, 2026.
Contents
Premise
A married couple battle for power within their relationship, which is then complicated when a technological accident shrinks the wife to 6 inches (15 centimetres) tall.
Cast and characters
Main
Elizabeth Banks as Lindy Littlejohn, a best selling author who is accidentally shrunk down to 6 inches tall
Matthew Macfadyen as Les Littlejohn, Lindy's husband and the creator of the miniaturization formula
O-T Fagbenle as Richard, Les' co-worker and physicist who makes himself smaller to try and win over Lindy
Zoe Lister-Jones as Vivienne, Hilton's chief scientist who takes over Les' lab under Hilton's order
Sofia Rosinsky as Lulu Littlejohn, Lindy and Les's young adult daughter
Sian Clifford as Terry, Lindy's book editor and best friend
Aasif Mandvi as Martin Mucklowe, Les' business partner and best friend
Recurring
Ronny Chieng as Hilton Smith, a billionaire who is funding the miniaturization project with his own agenda
Rong Fu as Janet, Richard's colleague who has a crush on him
Steven McCarthy as Nils, a reporter who wants to talk about the miniaturization project, but ends up being shrunk himself
Tricia Black as Hel, the lawyer of Lindy's student
Adam Capriolo as Oliver, Terry's assistant
Production
Development
The comedy drama series received a straight-to-series order from Peacock in March 2024. It is created and executive produced by Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner who are showrunners on the series, which is adapted from the short story of the same name by Manuel Gonzales. Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer are executive producers for Media Res. Greg Mottola directed the first two episodes, and is also an executive producer.
Casting
The cast is led by Matthew Macfadyen and Elizabeth Banks, who are also both executive producers on the series. In January 2025, they were joined in the cast by Zoe Lister-Jones, Sofia Rosinsky, O-T Fagbenle, and Sian Clifford as series regulars and Ronny Chieng in a recurring role. In March 2025, Aasif Mandvi, Rong Fu and Tricia Black joined the cast in recurring roles.
Filming
Principal photography took place in Toronto, Ontario from January 2025 with a schedule to last through the spring of 2025 into July.
Release
The series premiered on April 9, 2026, on Peacock.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 71% based on 24 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Packing big performances by Banks and Macfadyen, The Miniature Wife's premise risks running out of steam, but it keeps the laughs coming and manages not to shrink under pressure." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 59 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.