Netflix has just added 2026’s first properly addictive thriller show

The new thriller series from Harlan Coben (Fool Me Once, The Stranger) is available to stream now on Netflix in its entirety.

Adapting the writer's 2019 novel of the same name, the show centres upon Simon Greene (Irish actor James Nesbitt, Five Minutes of Heaven), a man living in Manchester with a successful job as a wealth manager and a loving wife named Ingrid (Minnie Driver, Good Will Hunting).

Though the couple's life seems perfect on the surface, they have been left shaken by their teenage daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) running away from home.

Six months after her disappearance, and following much effort, Simon tracks down Paige, discovering her vulnerable and strung out on drugs, busking in a city park.

Finally, having the chance to take her home, their reunion is disrupted by the presence of Paige's boyfriend, Aaron (Thomas Flynn), whom Simon believes is abusive and violent.

Aaron and Simon wind up getting into a physical altercation, a video of which goes viral. The husband and father is also arrested for the fight, as Paige disappears yet again.

Emboldened by the incident, Simon continues the search for his daughter, embarking on an investigation that takes him into "a dangerous underworld, revealing deep secrets that could tear his family apart forever".

Run Away Review

If you are a fan of any of Harlan Coben's previous mystery thrillers for Netflix - the most famous of which are Safe, The Stranger, Stay Close, Fool Me Once and Missing You - chances are you'll probably get a kick out of Run Away.

Having seen three episodes of the series, we'd say it doesn't break from the winning formula Coben and his frequent writing collaborator, Danny Brocklehurst, have established.

We'd sum this up as the following:

(1) A wide-ranging mystery borne out of a simple but universal question. In the case of Run Away, how far would a person go to protect their family?

(2) The introduction of a vast array of supporting characters, played by well-known character actors. Many of these characters are revealed to have hidden motives or to be on their own enigmatic quests, becoming entangled in the series' central mystery in unexpected, if sometimes convoluted, ways.

(3) Punchy and pacy 45-minute episodes that often end with enticing cliffhangers that make viewers immediately want to hit the "next episode" option on Netflix.

That said, JOE would actually rank Run Away as one of the author's best TV shows to date, because of its clearer and tighter plotting, its greater sense of humour and its increased emphasis on character.

Having played supporting parts in two previous Coben projects, Stay Close and Missing You, Nesbitt makes for an extremely likeable protagonist.

Imbuing his driven and haunted lead character with a wry quality, the Irish actor makes Simon Greene an everyman you can root for, flaws and all.

Nesbitt is also ably supported by two brilliant supporting performances from Ruth Jones (Gavin and Stacey) and Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter).

In an inspired bit of against-type casting, Jones plays a calm and collected private eye. As her own separate investigation intersects with Simon's search for his daughter, we see how Jones' naturally gentle and warm demeanour causes people to underestimate her PI.

At the same time, Enoch takes a part that could be boring in lesser hands - an arrogant, single-minded police detective who has it out for Simon - but brings to it an infectious charisma that has us rooting for his cop, even when he might be wrong.

Run Away Interview

Ahead of the release of Run Away, JOE caught up with the show's stars James Nesbitt and Ruth Jones.

Given this is the Irish actor's third collaboration with Coben, we asked him what it is about the author's writing that keeps him coming back.

"One is Harlan's mind [and] the extraordinary circumstances that he creates for very recognisable people," Nesbitt responded.

"The fact that... [these] different stories are interwoven, you're constantly guessing at how they're going to come together. The more Harlan's shows are on and the more globally huge he is... the more audiences know sort of what's coming, but [they actually] have no idea what's coming.

"But also it's just the truth of the character that you look for. This is very much a story about relationships.

"A lot of the time, [its] the father-daughter relationship, a father thinking that he's failed his daughter - not [being] able to protect her, and now not [being] able to find her. He'll do anything for that.

"As we see in the beginning, [there's] a rather dark side to him. [He's] a very sudden, violent, explosive man. 

"[There are those] questions: What are we prepared to do for our loved ones?

"The shows are epic, there is big production value. You've got cranes and multi-cameras and steady cams and drones, and incredible sets, and wonderful clothes, and so you know that you're involved in something pretty [big].

"There is the notion that this is a global show that will air on the same day globally... Why would you not do it?"

Also, praising Coben, Jones told JOE: "I think what he has achieved, and the whole production has achieved, is the sense of the epic and massive story running side by side with the very personal and the domestic. 

"Even with my character, although essentially she's facilitating the solution to Simon Greene's awful predicament and trying to help him find his daughter, she's also got her own personal story going through [it].

"I think Harlan and the writers who adapted the script just achieved that so beautifully, and then it made the character richer because it wasn't just procedural language.  

"Obviously, there has to be a lot of that. There's a lot of use of social media [which Jones' character Elena uses to gather information and evidence]... It's just so rich, and very, very layered, and that makes it more watchable and sustains eight episodes."

As for how the Gavin and Stacey actress became involved in Run Away, playing the less overtly comedic role of the PI Elena, she explained:

"It came out of the blue. [Frequent Coben collaborator] Nicola Shindler got in touch. I'm a big fan of hers. I think she's an incredible producer.

"We had a Zoom. I was actually on holiday at the time. I just warmed to Harlan. You consider what a huge powerhouse he is internationally, and yet [he's] a very warm, accessible, easy to talk to person who is just excited about the project. That really drew me in.

"I'd listened to the audiobook of Run Away. I thought the story was just so gripping, the way... you're constantly having the rug pulled from under you. That drew me to it. 

"I just love the character. I love that when you first meet her, she's stealing a dog. And you go: 'Why is she stealing a dog?' And then you think you've had that question answered, and then you realise: 'Oh, no, it isn't that reason either.' So all the time you're being tossed and turned. 

"As a viewer, that's exciting. But for an actor, it's really exciting as well. And again, it's very different from anything I've played before. It was a no-brainer, really, to say yes."

Run Away will drop globally on Netflix on New Year's Day in over 190 countries.

That said, Irish viewers in particular are sure to get a kick out of Nesbitt's character - who is Northern Irish, like the actor - and his uniquely Irish turns of phrase.

At one point in the series, for example, Simon jokes about wanting to gift someone he has an issue with "a bucket of shite".

When we asked Nesbitt if these turns of phrase were in the initial script, he told us: "No, I would bring that, because it's important. It has to sound right coming out of my mouth. 

"I mostly use my own accent. I do other accents, but I've always liked to have [my] accent out there. Particularly, I think there's a subconscious thing about the past and that accent only ever being really associated with the conflict [in Northern Ireland]. 

"So I love that it's out there. I love the idea that there's a Northern Irish wealth manager being seen all over the world, that [global audiences] hear the accent. 

"They've always been pretty good about letting me, not only change some of the phrases, but also bring in kind of more authentic insults or bits of humour, because that adds colour to the character.

"The more you can do that and the more layers you can put on it and the more authenticity you can bring to it, then I think the better it is."

On the topic of the Emerald Isle, JOE mentioned to Nesbitt how Coben and Brocklehurst recently told us - when promoting their previous show, the underrated Lazarus, which is streaming on Prime Video - that they would love to set a future mystery thriller in Ireland.

When asked if this is something the actor would want to be a part of, he joked: "If I'm not part of it, I won't be watching it."

Speaking to us from Belfast over Zoom, he added: "I'd love that. Working at home excites me so much. I've loved it so much in my life, and so much of it has been about the conflict. 

"So to do something like that here would be really brilliant, and I think it would sit well here. 

"Belfast is a fantastic place to work. I've got a business outside of just acting. I've got a facilities company here, and we're very, very busy. 

"The mountains are there, the seaside is there, the studios are there, the urban sprawl is there. They're all closely connected. So it really lends itself to filming here. 

"Also, I think it would be great for a dark and twisty thriller [to film] here. So, bring it on. 

"If I'm not in it, I'm walking into the sea," he also quipped.

On the influx of international productions coming to Ireland to film in recent years, Nesbitt added: "I love it. It's been so good as Northern Ireland continues to evolve from its past, to now have the world knowing that things like [Game of] Thrones were filmed here, and alongside things like the success of the golf.

"Anything that shows where I come from, where I'm sat right now in Belfast, in an attractive and alluring light, I'm all for."

All eight episodes of Run Away are streaming on Netflix right now.