When RUN AWAY arrives on screen, adapted from Harlan Coben’s 2019 novel by his frequent collaborator Danny Brocklehurst alongside Tom Farrelly and Amanda Duke, it signals something of a shift in the streaming thriller landscape that Coben has come to dominate with algorithmic precision. This is one of his less bombastic efforts, trading in the usual baroque plot gymnastics for something more harrowing, more grounded in the kind of parental nightmare that doesn’t require secret societies or buried corpses to feel genuinely unsettling.
At its center is James Nesbitt as Simon, a father whose daughter Paige has vanished into the undertow of drug addiction, and while the role doesn’t break new ground for an actor who has made a career of playing tormented everymen, it serves as a sharp reminder that few inhabit that particular emotional territory with quite his weathered authenticity. What elevates the proceedings beyond standard missing-person melodrama is the supporting cast, particularly Tracy-Ann Oberman as Jessica, Simon’s lawyer, who brings a magnificently terrifying energy to every scene, and Ruth Jones as private investigator Elena Ravenscroft, all iron fist wrapped in velvet glove, radiating a faint but beautifully calibrated unease that lingers long after she exits the frame.
The machinery of plot unfolds across eight episodes in increasingly convoluted but surprisingly well-oiled grooves, each twist engineered to open fresh avenues of intrigue and ensure you’ll return for the next installment, which is precisely how these things are built to function in the streaming era even if we pretend we’ve been unshackled from the tyranny of appointment television. Simon, against the wishes of his wife Ingrid, played by a woefully underused Minnie Driver who spends much of the series comatose in an ICU bed while dialogue so hackneyed it would disgrace CASUALTY plays out above her inert form, continues his secret search for Paige despite the official wisdom that addicts must hit rock bottom before they can be saved.
The first episode closes with the kind of calculated revelation that defines Coben’s approach: Paige’s brother at university with her busking guitar stashed in his room, Elena discovering that Henry’s last Instagram post before his alleged two-week holiday came from Paige herself, all those familiar notes of dum-dum-dah that once would have kept us waiting seven days and now simply keep us clicking through to the next hour. We mock the formula even as we submit to it, because Coben has perfected the art of the ratings banker, the dependable machine that converts recognizable faces and competent craft into engagement metrics, and RUN AWAY, for all its modest ambitions and occasionally creaky dialogue, delivers exactly what it promises: a sleek, functional thriller that understands the difference between innovation and reliability, and has long since chosen the latter.
Graham Norton is stepping into uncharted territory with THE NEIGHBOURHOOD—an ITV gameshow that`s about to flip the reality TV script entirely.
What happens when you put everyday people in extraordinary circumstances and ask them to compete against their neighbors for serious money?
More at irishfilmtv.com.
17 years old. A trip to Holland. Two Irish lads with big dreams and zero idea what was coming.
That`s where Ciarán Hinds and Liam Neeson bonded—and it changed everything. 🎬
In a beautiful moment on the Late Late Show, Hinds reflected on the power of those formative years—and why family, not accolades, is what truly matters. 💫
Watch now at irishfilmtv.com.
72 hours. One decision. Everything on the line.
Andrew Scott is stepping into one of WWII`s most untold stories in the upcoming film PRESSURE—where a meteorologist`s weather forecast became the most consequential prediction in history.
Watch new trailer at irishfilmtv.com.
🎬 THE YEAR OF ÉANNA HARDWICKE 🎬
From SAIPAN to THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD to NO ORDINARY HEIST—this is the actor`s defining moment. An IFTA winner. A West End star. Now a desperate man caught in a heist like no other.
In cinemas THIS WEEK: a gripping true story of the infamous Northern Bank robbery. £26.5 million. Two families held hostage. No way out.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
BELFAST`s Jamie Dornan will host SNL UK this weekend.
Dornan, known for his role in FIFTY SHADES OF GREY and THE TOURIST, will front the program alongside Brit-award winning band Wolf Alice.
The show marks the first British incarnation of the sketch series, which was created by Lorne Michaels and first launched in the US in 1975.
Watch now at irishfilmtv.com.
In a brand-new interview, OUTLANDER star/executive producer, Caitríona Balfe, discusses THAT pivotal Season 8, Episode 3 scene where Claire saves a baby.
A must-watch for OUTLANDER fans!
More at irishfilmtv.com.
✨ Brendan Gleeson just reminded us why he`s one of the greats ✨
Yesterday at the London Standard Theatre Awards, Gleeson took the night for his performance in THE WEIR—and honestly? there`s no one else who could have done it quite like him.
This is an actor who doesn`t perform. he breathes into the role. he becomes it. soul-deep, nuanced, the kind of characterisation that makes you forget you`re watching acting at all.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
* THE IMMORTAL MAN now on Netflix *
This is not a spinoff. This is not a revival. This is Tommy Shelby`s final reckoning—the definitive end to one of the most captivating characters television has ever created.
The gypsy king`s last move is being made. Are you ready?
More PEAKY at irishfilmtv.com.
Fresh from his @iftaacademy LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, Ciaran Hinds returns to Irish theatres in MIDWINTER BREAK.
Hinds and co-star, Leslie Mansville, deliver amazing performances - they move through this film with a kind of choreographed delicacy, two people who have built their relationship on a foundation of interlocking vulnerabilities and mutual evasions. In theatres tomorrow, Mar 20.
More info at irishfilmtv.com.
