Simon Greene is a father of three. His older daughter and his son are college students, the younger girl in high-school. Both parents have a good job, and everything was fine until a few months ago, when Paige, the Eldest, dropped out of college to follow a small-time drug dealer. She has not contacted her family since. Very worried, her father has been searching for her ever since.
One day, he finds her in a park, accompanied by the dealer. The girl runs away before he can talk to her. At the end of his tether, Simon takes his anger out on the dealer, filmed by someone in the park. The video goes viral. Shortly afterwards, the dealer is found murdered. Although he is the prime suspect, Simon redoubles his efforts to find his daughter. From flimsy clues to dubious hypotheses, and after many mistakes, he will eventually discover an unexpected truth.
Finally a good series adapted from Harlan Coben’s novels
Actually, Safe was the first good adaptation I saw (in 2018). Every year, Netflix produces a new adaptation, some of them ok, most of them boring or ludicrous. As if a page-turner could not become a series to be bingewatched. Even the first tentative of series not adapted from a book, Lazarus (on Amazon Prime Video) was not exactly good. Each time I watched, often disappointed. But not this time !
The suspense is good, as always. But in this series, the characters and the actors are much better than in other adaptations. As a father driven by his anger and his concern, James Nesbitt is excellent. Cool and casually angry, Elena the PI provides a counterpoint. Far from any cliché, the nerd/tech pro is a grandma. And the couple Ash / DeeDee, first insufferable, achieve the remarkable feat of being touching.
I’m relieved. Run Away may put an end to the curse of failed Harlan Coben adaptations.
Miniseries, 8 episodes (45 mn), 2026, on Netflix
WITH : James Nesbitt as Simon Greene, Alfred Enoch as DS Isaac Fagbenle, Amy Gledhill as DC Ruby Todd, Ruth Jones as Elena Ravenscroft, Annette Badland as Lou, Jon Pointing as Ash, Maeve Courtier-Lilley as Dee Dee/Holly, Lucian Msamati as Cornelius Faber, Minnie Driver as Ingrid Greene, Ellie de Lange as Paige Greene, Ingrid Oliver as Yvonne Previdi, Simon Thorp as Sebastian Thorpe, Adrian Greensmith as Sam Greene, Ellie Henry as Anya Greene, Marcus Fraser as Rocco, Sam Swainsbury as Professor Van De Beek