It’s become something of a New Year tradition for Netflix to treat us to a new Harlan Coben adaptation – and we’re happy to report that 2025 is no exception.
Following on from the success of Stay Close and Fool Me Once, the streaming giant will mark New Year’s Day by dropping Missing You.
Netflix’s past collaborations with Harlan Coben – which have also included The Stranger and Safe – have proved massively popular with users, and are renowned for their predominantly British casts and soap-y plot twists.
Days before the arrival of Missing You, it’s clear that this latest addition continues the trend, with even the most critical of reviews suggesting that those who were captivated by Fool Me Once this time a year ago should give the new five-part mystery drama a chance.
Here’s a selection of what critics are saying so far…
“[Netflix] knows that New Year’s Day is for hangover TV binges, and Missing You’s five 45-minute episodes will fill the void, offering enough action and twists to keep you watching until the bitter end.
“Marking the ninth in Netflix’s collection of limited series adaptations of books from American mystery writer Coben, it has all the hallmarks of its predecessors: plenty of cliffhangers, gratuitous gore and juicy family revelations.”
“It’s equal parts a twisty murder mystery and a study in trauma – as such, takes itself incredibly seriously. But the fine ensemble cast, which also includes Ashley Walters, Lenny Henry and a cartoonishly villainous Marc Warren, keep things interesting.”
“Once upon a time, Coben cornered the market in airport lounge page-turners, now he’s ideal for filling the hours when your flight’s inevitably delayed on New Year’s Day and you’ve only got your phone for distraction.
“If only the dialogue was more than mere exposition and the characters. But then we know from Safe, The Stranger, Stay Close and Fool Me Once – all stream magnets for Netflix – that what Coben lacks in character development he more than makes up for in helter-skelter storytelling.”
“If there’s one element of Fool Me Once that Missing You gets right is that it is gorgeously character-driven. Instantly it’s easy to fall in love with Eleazar’s Kat, who is a nest of complex emotions.
“It may sound a little poetic but that’s what Kat Donovan inspires, great feeling and a wealth of empathy. Eleazar is so expressive in her delivery of Kat: she is raw and soft yet simultaneously strong and guarded. Everything Kat does is with great determination and passion.”
“This year we had Michelle Keegan and Dame Joanna Lumley’s brilliantly camp showdown in Fool Me Once and now we have Missing You. I got the entire series ahead of release and you can sure bet I binged it in one sitting. It was unhinged, maddening and nonsensical. But I loved it.”
“Missing You is an extremely bingeable series that offers good answers to its mysteries if you stick with it. Before that happens, however, you’ll be on a rollercoaster of twists and seemingly random events that pay off sooner rather than later.
“It boasts excellent performances – especially from [Rosalind] Eleazar – and, in general, is exactly what you expect from an investigative series. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it sure knows how to spin it.”
“This is television for the shattered attention span. Every few minutes there’s a new twist to trigger the dopamine receptors in your brain and try to keep you from doom scrolling on Instagram for another few minutes, until the next twist.
“There’s a sort of intellectual dishonesty to basing so much of your narrative on faulty information, but viewers won’t care so long as the cliffhangers and gasp-inducing revelations keep coming.”
“As anyone who has tuned into Netflix’s growing Harlan Coben (limited series) universe can tell you, there is no shortage of delectable mysteries, jaw-dropping twists, and unbelievable and unsettling final moments… except in the latest installment, Missing You. The new show is remarkably lacking in the usual charm and gripping storytelling that accompanies these book-to-screen thrillers.”
