Topping the barnstorming success of Fool Me Once is no easy feat, but Netflix’s latest Harlan Coben thriller Missing You may just be able to do it thanks to its wild cast.
Led by Slow Horses actor Rosalind Eleazar, 36, the six-parter, which was released yesterday, follows her mind-bending investigation sparked after her ex-fiancé, who ghosted her, resurfaces on a dating app.
Rosalind is joined by acting greats including Ashley Walters, who plays her ex-fiancé Josh, Steve Pemberton, frequent Harlan Coben collaborator Richard Armitage, Sir Lenny Henry and James Nesbitt.
While there are more starry actors than you can shake a stick at, Missing You has also borrowed celebrities from other worlds, including the ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity.
Metro revealed last month, after seeing an advanced preview of Missing You, that 2024 campmate GK Barry – real name Grace Keeling – stars in a previously unannounced role of Vanessa. But she’s not the only former jungle dweller to make an appearance in the thriller.
Former King of the Jungle and Busted singer Matt Willis also has a cameo role as Darryl in the much anticipated thriller, which has left fans utterly bewildered.
Seen in the first episode on a date with Rosalind’s character Detective Kat Donovan, the noughties star has caused a flurry of reactions from fans online, many of whom were shocked to see him in the show.
@OpheliaMCFLY_GD wrote: ‘Started watching Missing You on Netflix and up pops Matt Willis as a cameo. Didn’t even know, what a lovely surprise’.
While @pagerannigan could hardly believe what they were seeing: ‘am i having a fever dream? watching the new harlen coben series and swear I’ve just seen GK Barry and Matt Willis in it’.
@gracieXmcfc also weighed in, sharing on X: ‘So far this Missing You series has Matt Willis in and GK Barry, what a series this is gonna be if these are the backing cast’.
While the Busted star’s cameo was a short one, he left an impression on fans as his character appeared to give a subtle nod to the pop band’s 2003 track Air Hostess as he said to Rosalind’s character upon finding out she is a detective: ‘I thought you said you were an air hostess.’
It prompted one fan, @GeorginaCorney, to write on X: ‘Just started watching Missing You on Netflix UK with my mum and her bf, and I’m the only one laughing at Matt Willis saying “I thought you were an air hostess” … some jokes are wasted on people.’
It’s not the first time a Harlan adaptation has had a surprising connection to another TV show.
In Fool Me Once, eagle-eye fans spotted that Judith’s (Dame Joanna Lumley) opulent home was also Tommy Shelby’s in Peaky Blinders.
‘Loving Fool Me Once on Netflix but aren’t they using Tommy Shelby’s house?’ Charlie Murphy posted on X after tuning in.
Soon afterwards, Netflix confirmed the theory.
Thankfully, if you spent all of New Year’s Day committed to Netflix and chilling in bed and finished Missing You already, you’ve got plenty more ways to get your next Harlan fix.
The writer previously signed a deal with the streamer, meaning 14 of his novels will be developed into original series. Missing You is the ninth to be given the adaptation treatment.
If you’re a Harlan newbie then we suggest making The Stranger your second watch.
This time fan-favourite Richard plays Adam who is told a secret by a, you guessed it – a stranger, and soon his wife goes missing. It’s addictively tense as lives begin to unravel and unexpected connections appear.
Or try Safe, which follows widowed father of two, Tom (Michael C Hall) whose life gets turned upside down when his teenage daughter goes missing – and he discovers a lot he didn’t know about.
On top of those titles from Harlan, there is also Gone for Good, The Innocent, Hold Tight, and The Woods.
But if you’re wanting something different, critics have particularly singled out Netflix’s hidden gem Bad Day For the Cut which has a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score.
The film follows a mild-mannered farmer named Donal who finds his elderly mother murdered in what appears to be a home invasion.
When masked thugs then try to kill him in a botched staged suicide, he escapes with his life and embarks on a quest to avenge her.
Missing You is available to stream on Netflix now.
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