Harlan Coben is the master of twisty page-turners and, increasingly, TV shows. The prolific crime writer has had a number of his thrillers adapted into films and the latest, ‘Missing You’, will have Netflix viewers talking again after the success of his last adaptation for the streamer, ‘Fool Me Once’, which was one of the streamer’s most popular shows of 2024.
For Coben, showrunner Victoria Asare-Archer and the cast, the challenge was to balance those nail-biting cliffhangers with character development and relationships that viewers could relate to. “We wanted to keep the twists and the tension,” Coben said at a press launch for the series in November. “But I think, like [producer] Nicola Shindler said: This is also a love story. Really, the story between Kat and Josh is central here.”
The Cat in question is Detective Inspector Kat Donovan, played by “Slow Horses” star Rosalind Eleazar. Still puzzling over the death of her father (played by Lenny Henry) and the breakup of her engagement to Josh (Ashley Walters), she finds herself unraveling a mystery that could give her the answers she’s long sought is. “It has all the signature Harlan stuff that people love,” Henry said. “Those intriguing details, those relationships and those hooks.”
I miss you. (L to R) Rosalind Eleazar as Kat, Oscar Kennedy as Brendan in Missing You. Cr. James Stack/Netflix © 2024.
James Stack/Netflix
But what elevates it from a typical procedural in Henry’s eyes is its focus on the relationships between Kat and her friends, family and colleagues, including her boss Ellis Stagger (Richard Armitage, marking his fourth Coben adaptation).
“I think what’s happened today is we’ve allowed family and relationships to permeate these things,” Henry said. “It’s the humanity of drama that makes us want to watch. It’s not just about the procedural element, it’s everything now.”
“We’ve had a little revolution in television,” the “Rings of Power” star added. “And for that I say hurray.”
For Coben, who wove storylines about Kat’s aunts and her friendships amid the tension, this adaptation was the most moving of all his previous work. “This is the most emotional ending I’ve experienced,” he admitted. “When I watched episode 5, I actually cried. I think I also had a little tear in my eye during ‘Fool Me Once’. But I think this will be the most emotional series.”
Of course, that’s not to say there isn’t enough tension (Henry joked, “It’s like crack for television”). Eleazar, who was asked to audition not long after she got married, said she spent her honeymoon reading the novel — something her new husband “wasn’t particularly happy about,” she joked.
“The book is incredible,” she said. “It’s a real page turner and the last few moments are just the most shocking. I didn’t expect the story to turn out this way at all.”
I miss you. (L to R) Rosalind Eleazar as Kat, Brigid Zengeni as Odette, Jo Martin as Tessie in Missing You. Cr. James Stack/Netflix © 2024.
James Stack/Netflix
Asare-Archer also said she was shocked by the ending when she first read the book. “I thought, ‘I’m going to guess the ending. I’m going to predict who the killer is,” she remembered reading it. “And it was the only book I got to the end – gasp – I went right back to the beginning. Even I couldn’t predict it. It’s definitely both emotional and there’s a huge twist.
When it came to adapting it for TV, the writer said she was aware that many fans would be tempted to binge-watch the five episodes, which dropped simultaneously on Netflix on Wednesday. But she didn’t let it affect the way she approached the adaptation.
“Our job is to write brilliant stories and create a brilliant series, it’s up to the audience to decide how they want to watch it,” she said. “That said, if this is as gripping, characterful and emotional as we think it is, I think it should be a series you won’t want to leave. You want to keep going…and it’s only five episodes, so that’s a perfect New Year’s Day!’