Picture via Netflix
Netflix is currently filming its fifth major Harlan Coben UK adaptation and its ninth overall, titled Missing You. At the recent Next on Netflix UK event, Victoria Asare-Archer, writer and executive producer of the series, and actress Jessica Plummer teased what we can expect from the forthcoming series.
Asare-Archer serves as the head writer for Missing You and is best known for working on a slew of shows, including Netflix’s Turn Up Charlie and the other Coben series Stay Close, plus also worked on Death in Paradise and The Athena.
When asked how she got involved with the project and how it was meeting Coben, Asare-Archer said, “I wrote two episodes of Stay
Close, so that was the series just before last, and then this was my first time being asked to take on as lead. I actually grew up reading Harlan Coben books, sitting in a library, reading his series, so working with him—going from just working an episode to a whole series—it has been adventurous and amazing.”
Jessica will play the role of Stacy, who she describes as “a private investigator and [Kat Dovan’s] closest confidante.” Jessica teased that there are ultimately two stories unfolding throughout the series, with Victoria providing a broad overview of the plot:
“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.”
Victoria Asare-Archer on what makes Harlan Coben books special
Coben’s books have become perfect source material for Netflix, and as evidenced by Fool Me Once reaching the all-time Netflix top 10, they are extremely popular.
When asked about what makes the books transition so well to TV, Asare-Archer said:
“The books are fantastic and they’re fun, they’re such clever, intricate, complicated stories. Like you say,
you are always second guessing what’s the next twist and turn.There’s so much energy to them. Harlan Coben knows how to make a thriller that both entertains and engages and is beautiful to watch and full of incredible actors. They’re just a great experience and this hopefully is going to feel quite different to the rest in the sense of this is the fifth Harlan Coben UK production. They all have a slightly different tone, a slightly different feel. This is the first one set in a city. It’s only five episodes, so it’s really centred around one character so that makes it just so intense and emotional and characterful.
It’s slightly different in tone but very much got the classic Harlan Coben thriller feel.”
When will filming wrap for Missing You?
The event also confirmed the bulk of the series’ cast following the news that Rosalind Eleazar had begun shooting the series in early March 2024.
PIC BY MARK CAMPBELL/MCPIX
Alongside Eleazar, Richard Armitage, a mainstay of Netflix’s UK Harlan Coben productions, will return. We’ll also see Paul Kaye, Steven Pemberton, Lenny Henry, Lisa Faulkner, Samantha Spiro, Joe Martin, Oscar Kennedy, Charlie Hamblett, Mary Malone, Catherine Ayers, Brigid Zengeni, and Felix Garcia Guyer.
Speaking about the cast, Victoria said, “It’s pretty much a dream cast, with a great range overall. We’ve got national treasures and up-and-coming talents. It’s a bit of a dream.”
Regarding the shooting schedule, Victoria confirmed that they’re currently shooting through to the summer, suggesting that filming could be wrapped up by May or June 2024. To attend the event, Jessica mentioned that she had come to London following a night shoot in Manchester. Jessica said they’re filming at locations across the North West, including filming at Sefton Park.
For more on Missing You – keep our main preview for the new series bookmarked!
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