Run Away First Look: James Nesbitt and a ‘Gavin & Stacey’ Icon Headline New Netflix + Harlen Coben Drama

What Run Away Is About

Simon (Nesbitt) once had the perfect setup: stable marriage, happy kids, good job. Then his eldest daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) vanished. When he finally spots her, strung out in a city park, a confrontation spirals into shocking violence – and she disappears again.

The search pulls in a determined police presence (Alfred Enoch), while pivotal figures from Simon’s personal life (Minnie Driver, Ruth Jones) complicate what he thinks he knows. Tips and dead ends drag him through Manchester’s shadowy corners, where allies and antagonists blur: Lucian Msamati, Finty Williams, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Annette Badland, Ingrid Oliver and others round out a world of family ties, law-enforcement pressure, and underworld connections. Following the trail forces Simon to confront secrets that could tear his family apart.

Cast at a Glance

Alongside James Nesbitt (Suspect) and Ruth Jones (Gavin & Stacey), the ensemble features Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris), Alfred Enoch (The Couple Next Door), and Lucian Msamati (Hostage), plus Jon Pointing (Big Boys), Tracy-Ann Oberman (Ridley Road), Annette Badland (Ted Lasso), Maeve Courtier-Lilley (The Outlaws), Ellie de Lange, Adrian Greensmith (Metal Lords), Ellie Henry, Ingrid Oliver (Doctor Who), Finty Williams (Doc Martin), Joe McGann (Upper Hand), and Amy Gledhill (Hullraisers).

Who’s Making It

Frequent Coben partner Quay Street Productions produces, with Coben executive-producing via Final Twist Productions. Danny Brocklehurst (Fool Me Once, Brassic) is lead writer and EP; Nicola Shindler and Richard Fee also executive-produce. Additional writers include Tom Farrelly, Amanda Duke, and Charlotte Coben. Nimer Rashed and Isher Sahota direct; Guy Hescott is series producer and Will McDonagh producer. Orla Maxwell leads casting.

Harlan Coben on Netflix: Where Run Away Fits

Coben’s partnership with Netflix now spans a growing “universe” of limited series across the U.K. and Europe. Here are the key titles and what they’re about (James Nesbitt has appeared in two of them: Stay Close and Missing You):

• Safe (U.K.) — A widowed surgeon’s daughter vanishes, exposing secrets within a gated community.
• The Stranger (U.K.) — A mysterious woman detonates suburban lives by revealing devastating truths.
• The Woods (Poland) — A prosecutor links new evidence to his sister’s disappearance at a 1990s summer camp.
• The Innocent (Spain) — After a fatal accident, a man’s attempt to rebuild his life unravels in a web of lies.
• Gone for Good (France) — Ten years after a family tragedy, a man’s girlfriend disappears, reopening old wounds.
• Stay Close (U.K.) — (with James Nesbitt) Four people face buried secrets when a past case resurfaces.
• Hold Tight (Poland) — A teen’s disappearance exposes dark currents in a well-to-do neighborhood.
• Fool Me Once (U.K.) — A widow sees her supposedly dead husband on a nanny cam, igniting a conspiracy.
• Missing You (U.K.) — (with James Nesbitt) A detective hunts a serial predator while a grieving woman searches for her vanished fiancé.
• Coming up: Caught, Just One Look, I Will Find You.

When and Where to Watch

Run Away launches on Netflix on January 1, 2026. They haven't released a trailer yet, but it shouldn't be too much longer.