Missing You is a five-part Harlan Coben thriller launching on Netflix and following on from the success of previous adaptations such as Fool Me Once, Stay Close and Safe - and just like those amazingly tense thrillers, this Harlan Coben mystery relocates the story from the US to the UK.
Missing You is a five-part story about Kat Donovan played by Rosalind Eleazar, whose loving fiancé Josh went missing eleven years previously. Then she sees him mysteriously appear on a dating app! From then on the twists and turns get more intense and bizarre as Kat delves into what might have happened to Josh and if it could be linked to the tragic death of her father.
Alongside Rosalind and Jessica Plummer (see interview below) is an all-star cast including Sir Lenny Henry as Kat's father and a Harlan Coben thriller regular Richard Armitage (see full cast list below).
So here's everything you need to know about Harlan Coben's Missing You on Netflix...
Missing You release date
All five episodes of Missing You are now available to watch worldwide on Netflix.
Missing You plot
Eleven years ago Detective Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar) was happy with her fiancé Josh who was the love of her life. But then disappeared suddenly and she's never heard from him since. Then over a decade later, with the encouragement of her mate Stacey (Jessica Plummer), Kat is looking for love again. As she's swiping profiles on a dating app, she suddenly sees Josh's face on and her world explodes all over again. What the heck? Josh's reappearance forces her to delve back into the mystery surrounding her father’s murder and uncover long-buried secrets from her past. The twists and turns get ever more intense...
Richard Armitage and Rosalind Eleazar on why you'll binge Missing You in one sitting
Is there a trailer for Missing You?
Yes! The trailer takes us into Kat's world as she tries to work out why her fiancé who went missing 11 years ago has reappeared and seems to be connected to a case about a missing woman... you can watch it below!
Missing You cast — Rosalind Eleazar interview on playing Kat Donovan
Rosalind Eleazar plays the lead character Kat Donovan. Her previous credits include Slow Horses and Harlots.
Rosalind says: "When we first meet Kat, people might think of her as quite a strong person, but we see that getting chipped away. She has a lot of anger and unanswered questions, and she doesn’t believe the circumstances surrounding her father’s murder. Trust is an over-arching theme, because Kat wouldn’t be so far down this line if she didn’t trust people."
Missing You cast — Jessica Plummer interview on playing Stacey Embalo
Jessica Plummer, the former EastEnders plays Kat Donovan's friend Stacey Embalo. At a Netflix event in March 2024 Jessica told us much more: "So we follow Kat Donovan, who is a police officer and there's two stories in one. It's a classic thriller in the sense of it's someone with secrets.
"I got back this morning at 3am from a night shoot, but it's great, it's really lovely. I love Manchester and the North West. We've covered a lot of ground, we've done quite a lot of locations, we've been to Sefton Park! On the first day in four degrees wearing crop tops and doing a yoga class. I feel like visually this is going to be similar to what he's already done - very beautiful to watch."
Jessica Plummer reveals her favorite part of filming Missing You for Netflix
* Jessica Plummer has previously played tragic Chantelle Atkins in EastEnders, and starred in the BBC1 thriller The Girl Before. She was also a singer for the group Neon Jungle.
Who else is starring in Missing You?
Other cast for Missing You includes comedy legend Sir Lenny Henry as Kat's father Clint Donovan, plus Ashley Walters (Top Boy, Bulletproof) as Josh Buchanan, James Nesbitt (Stay Close, Bloodlands) plays Calligan and Matt Jay-Willis (Love is Blind) is Darryl.
Ashley Walters gives his take on Missing You below...
How would you describe Missing You as a drama? It feels more romantic than most Harlan thrillers…
Ashley Walters says: "The buzz word for me is ‘poetic’. There are countless thrilling elements to it and real twists and plot turns. That’s like a usual Harlan experience but alongside that, with Missing You is some real in-depth character work. Victoria Asare-Archer has managed to capture a nice balance. It’s the way these characters speak, the way it flows. A lot of the scenes between me and Rosalind Eleazar were like we were onstage. You get that freedom to go back and forth. It’s tough with these shows because people need exposition, but a lot of that is disguised within the poetry in this piece."
Were you already a fan of previous Harlan Coben series like Fool Me Once and Stay Close?
Ashley Walters says: "Fool Me Once is what got me. I didn’t know about the phenomenon that already existed. Harlan has got a hundred shows set up in different countries all around the world. He is cleaning up, but I was oblivious. Then when Fool Me Once came it was the impact that had. I’m one of those people that if everyone is telling me to watch it, I’m not going to watch it - I must be different. But with Fool Me Once, I was instantly hooked. I’ve known Nicola Shindler for a while. I was telling her about the things I want to do going forward in my career, then this came up. She said, “It’s different. It’s kind of what you’ve been asking about. Would you like to do it?”. They didn’t have a script at the time, so it was a real tough decision to make. Obviously, the book was there but this is an adaptation so there are a few differences between the book and the show. I made the decision based on the amazing cast, the writer Victoria, Harlan, Netflix and knowing Nicola."
With Top Boy you were invested in many aspects of the show. Did it feel refreshing to just come in and act in Missing You?
Ashley Walters says: "I had just come off a year on A Thousand Blows, which I was directing. I knew I wanted to get back into acting for a bit. There is less pressure, but I wanted to do something that was challenging for me. This was perfect. Josh is the complete opposite to Dushane in every sense of the word. He’s a journalist. He’s a romantic. I guess he’s more culturally diverse in his understanding of life and food culture and music. He speaks different, he moves different. He’s not a character that I’ve played in a long, long time. It was interesting getting back into that and going into scenes dropping my shoulders a bit. Being less strong and I guess less manly sometimes. That’s why I wanted to play Josh."
What was Josh and Kat’s relationship like before he mysteriously disappeared?
Ashley Walters says: "They were pretty much as close to perfect as you are going to get as a couple. Hugely connected, very passionate, very tactile. Just a real good relationship. They both supported each other in their jobs and were very loving. Josh was very genuine with how much he loved her and her with him. Through a series of flashbacks, viewers will feel how connected and how deep their relationship was. It is quite a beautiful thing. Maybe I don’t want my wife to hear this, but I don’t think I’ve seen a more genuine relationship on script and on screen."
Richard Armitage, (Fool Me Once) who plays Ellis Stagger, says: "I’ve never played a detective before. Nicola Shindler pointed that out to me. I racked my brains and she’s right. Lucas North in Spooks wasn’t really a detective constable. It's nice to take on a role which is the authority figure.
"Ellis is different from any other roles I’ve played and significantly different from Fool Me Once, which is my biggest criteria. It’s nice to take on a role which is sort of the authority figure in the whole piece. As a detective his main goal is to get to the truth, but Stagger is holding onto a secret which makes for an interesting tension inside the character."
Meanwhile Steve Pemberton (Benidorm, Inside No.9) plays Titus, Lisa Faulkner (Holby CIty, Brookside) is Dana Fells and Marc Warren (Safe, Sexy Beast) is Monte Leburne. Rudi Dharmalingam (The Lazarus Project) is Rishi, Samantha Spiro (Grandma's House) is Nurse Sally Steiner, Mary Malone is Aqua, while Paul Kaye, Charlie Hamblett, Oscar Kennedy (Wreck), Brigid Zengeni, Catherine Ayers, Felix Garcia Guyer and Jo Martin also star.
Behind the scenes and more on Missing You
Missing You filming is taking place around Manchester and the North West of England in 2024. It's by Quay Street Productions (Fool Me Once) created by Harlan Coben. Executive Producers are Harlan Coben, Nicola Shindler, Richard Fee, Victoria Asare-Archer, Danny Brocklehurst. The lead writer is Victoria Asare-Archer (Stay Close). The producer is Guy Hescott (Without Sin).
At a Netflix event in March 2024, Victoria Asare-Archer told us: "So you're constantly second guessing everything. Lots of twists and turns. It's a woman whose boyfriend disappeared 11 years ago and was never seen again. She opens a dating app one day and boom, he's there - it kind of opens this door to her past. It's about her lost boyfriend and also the tragic death of her father."
