For the first time in a long time, Richard Armitage will not be starring in the next Harlan Coben Netflix show.
Netflix just revealed the cast of Run Away, the next of the Harlan Coben Netflix shows. While there are a few who have starred in other Harlan Coben Netflix shows, including James Nesbitt, in the cast, it's notably missing a key player from many of those shows: Armitage.
According to Netflix, Armitage will not be in Run Away. Instead, Minnie Driver, Alfred Enoch, and Ruth Jones will star in the upcoming thriller based on Coben's book of the same name.
Regarding Armitage's absence in Run Away, Coben told Netflix: “I'm sure we'll work together again in the future.”
In addition to Nesbitt, Driver, Enoch, and Jones, the rest of the cast includes Jon Pointing, Lucian Msamati, Ellie de Lange, Adrian Greensmith, Ellie Henry, Joe McGann, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Amy Gledhill, Annette Badland, Ingrid Oliver, and Finty Williams, via Netflix.
Obviously, this will likely be met with some surprise from fans of the Harlan Coben Netflix shows. Armitage just starred in Missing You, which premiered on Jan. 1, 2025, and is performing well. Armitage also starred in Fool Me Once, which is the most popular of Coben's Netflix shows and the No. 8 most popular Netflix season of all time.
Of the nine Harlan Coben Netflix shows, Armitage has starred in four of those shows, including Stay Close, which premiered at the end of 2021, and The Stranger, which was the first of the Harlan Coben Netflix shows that caught on big-time in 2020. Even more interestingly, the only English-language Harlan Coben Netflix series that doesn't include Armitage is 2018's Safe starring Michael C. Hall. Since then, Armitage has been in all four of Coben's Netflix shows set in England... until now.
It'll definitely feel quite different without Armitage in Run Away. He's become a huge part of these shows, and I do think some fans watch because he's involved. I mean, it's hard to say otherwise when he's been in so many, and they almost always outperform viewership expectations. That's why this has been such a fruitful partnership between Coben, Netflix, and the many other stars.
Run Away won't be without one of the other staples from Coben's Netflix shows, though. Nesbitt, who starred in Missing You and Stay Close, will lead this series, alongside Driver and Jones.
As for when Run Away will premiere, that remains unclear. Netflix also shared that Nesbitt, Driver, and the rest of the cast and crew will be starting production in Manchester and Northwest England (where many of Coben's Netflix shows are set) sometime in January 2025. Assuming everything goes well, we could see Run Away on Netflix by the end of this year or early next year.
Stay tuned for more news for Run Away!