On the heels of Harlan Coben's new Netflix show, Missing You, which premiered on New Year's Day, Netflix shared two interesting updates about the cast and filming start of Run Away, one of the upcoming Harlan Coben Netflix shows.
James Nesbitt, who also starred in Missing You and Stay Close, two of the three most recent of Coben's Netflix shows, will star in Run Away. Ruth Jones and Minnie Driver will join Nesbitt, according to Netflix.
In the series, Nesbitt stars as Simon Greene, a father "whose perfect life starts to crumble after his daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange), well, runs away," according to Netflix. The story is based on Coben's 2019 book of the same name, so if you want to find out what happens, that's a good place to start!
Run Away cast
Netflix actually confirmed the full cast of Run Away, along with who the cast members will be playing. I believe that Nesbitt is the only star who has worked on Coben's Netflix shows in the past. This will be his third project of the now six of Coben's shows set and filmed in Northern England.
Here's the full cast and characters from the upcoming Harlan Coben Netflix shows:
Cast | Characters |
|---|---|
James Nesbitt | Simon Greene |
Minnie Driver | Ingrid Greene |
Ruth Jones | Elena Ravenscroft |
Lucian Msamati | Cornelius Faber |
Alfred Enoch | Isaac Fagbenle |
Ellie de Lange | Paige Greene |
Jon Pointing | Ash |
Ellie Henry | Anya Greene |
Tracy-Ann Oberman | Jessica Kinberg |
Adrian Greensmith | Sam Greene |
Annette Badland | Lou |
Ingrid Oliver | Yvonne |
Finty Williams | Enid Corval |
Joe McGann | Wiley Corval |
Amy Gledhill | Ruby Todd |
Maeve Courtier-Lilley | Dee Dee |
As the Netflix report also mentioned, Richard Armitage is not in Run Away. Unless he's going to make a surprise cameo, which Netflix hinted was not in the cards, Run Away will be the first of Coben's England-set shows without Armitage playing a major role since Safe starring Michael C. Hall. That show premiered all the way back in 2018. Since 2020, Armitage has starred in The Stranger, Stay Close, Fool Me Once, and Missing You. I think it's safe to say that fans will definitely be missing Armitage, along with the other cast members who have made multiple appearances in Coben's shows.
It's a bummer, of course, that Armitage will not be in Run Away. There have been a bunch of other very talented performers in Coben's other Netflix shows, like Michelle Keegan, Cush Jumbo, Rosalind Eleazar, Adeel Akhtar, and more. I might be biased, but I think Run Away has the best cast of any of Coben's other Netflix shows. I don't think we've seen a series yet with this caliber of talent all the way down the cast list in Run Away. I can't wait for fans to see it!
Run Away starts filming in January 2025
As mentioned, Netflix also revealed when production will begin on Run Away, and it's definitely some good news! Run Away will start filming sometime in January 2025, so sometime within the next two weeks. Typically, these kinds of shows don't take a terribly long time to film, so there's reason to believe we could see Run Away by the very end of the year or very early 2026.
Based on how things have been going lately, I don't think Netflix is in a hurry to change the New Year's Day drops for Coben's shows. Fool Me Once dropped on New Year's Day 2024, and it's one of the most popular Netflix shows ever. Missing You didn't quite reach the level of popularity as Fool Me Once, but it's been the top show in the UK for the first three weeks of the year. It's currently the No. 3 Netflix show in the world behind American Primeval and XO, Kitty season 2. I'd say it's still a massive success!
Netflix also revealed there will be eight episodes in Run Away, which is the same as Fool Me Once. Missing You was only five episodes. In 2023, Fool Me Once was filmed from February to August, according to a report from KFTV. If Run Away follows a similar production timeline as Fool Me Once, the cast and crew should wrap sometime in the middle of the summer, assuming all goes according to the plan.
If that happens, we should be expecting an early 2026 premiere for Run Away. I think a late 2025 is too ambitious with all the other Netflix shows coming out, but we'll keep you posted!