| Worth seeing: | to find out just how far-fetched and illogical human behaviour can supposedly be |
| Featuring: | James Nesbitt, Jon Pointing, Maeve Courtier-Lilley, Minnie Driver, Ruth Jones, Adam Burton, Adrian Greensmith, Alfred Enoch, Amy Gledhill, Annette Badland, Ben Galvin, Carolyn Pickles, Ellie de Lange, Ellie Henry, Finty Williams, Geraldine James, Ingrid Oliver, Joseph Thompson, Ken Bones, Lucian Msamati, Marcus Fraser, Mark Bazeley, Sam Swainsbury, Simon Bubb, Simon Thorp, Thomas Flynn, Tracy Ann Oberman |
| Key crew: | Isher Sahota, Nimer Rashed, Will McDonagh, Amanda Duke, Charlotte Coben, Daniel Brocklehurst, Harlan Coben, Tom Farrelly |
| Channel: | Netflix |
| Length: | 46 minutes |
| Episodes: | 8 |
| Broadcast date: | 1st January 2026 |
| Country: | UK |
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Wealthy financier Simon Greene (James Nesbitt) and his wife Ingrid (Minnie Driver) are struggling to cope with the disappearance of their daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange).
After a tip-off, Simon spots her in a park but as she runs away, her drug-addicted, ne’er-do-well boyfriend Aaron (Thomas Flynn) blocks his path – so he beats him up – as you would – becoming an internet sensation in the process.
When Aaron is found brutally murdered, Simon becomes the key suspect. Nevertheless, he and Ingrid head to the scene of the crime – as the key suspect would – to see if they can find any clues about where Paige could be. In the process, Ingrid gets shot by a drug-dealer and ends up spending the rest of the series in hospital.
Meanwhile, another wealthy businessman has hired private investigator Elena Ravenscroft (Ruth Jones) to find his missing son.
Elsewhere, young couple Dee Dee (Maeve Courtier-Lilley) and Ash (Jon Pointing) are driving around, killing people on a hit list.
Wouldn’t you believe it – all three strands are linked – but how?
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
The latest annual Netflix dramatisation of a Harlan Coben novel is as twisted, convoluted – and compelling – as you’d expect, if you’ve seen previous efforts, such as Missing You and Fool Me Once.
It’s slick, with high production values – from posh homes and cars to drug dens and lakeside graves – and its eight episodes are packed with red herrings, unlikely twists and just the kind of incoherent narrative nonsense that will have you rolling your eyes, even as you binge watch.
They throw everything at this – from drug dens and religious cults to family dysfunction and ghosts from the past.
At almost every turn, characters do exactly the opposite of what humans would do – to the extent that you’ll find yourself gasping with exasperation, and half of the characters flip randomly between hero and villain, while the other half are unmoved by any of the preposterous action.
The different characters work together as their storylines start to intertwine, and they find out that they have more in common than they thought – until they realise that they don’t – and then that they to again.
A number of the main characters are put out to pasture far earlier than you might expect, giving the impression that the casting budget was used to get big names on the poster, but they couldn’t afford to keep them throughout the series. And most of the actors who last until the final episode are somewhat unconvincing or lack empathy.
Most peculiarly, after seven and a half episodes of encouraging us to try to work out who’s doing what and why, the whole plot is explained in three expositional speeches from two characters. You’ll find, at that point, that almost everyone else you’ve been watching was largely incidental to the overall story, and one key strand – Ruth Jones’ raison d’être – seems to be brushed off entirely with a subtle line of dialogue, which doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
You will want to binge watch it – but less because you’re desperate to know what’s going on than because you just want to get it over with. But that’s better than just wanting to give up on it – you won’t, at least, want to – ahem – run away.