''Stay Close'' is a British

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

drama

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

based on the 2012

Harlan Coben Harlan Coben is an American writer of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past, murders, or fatal accidents and have multiple twists. Among his novels a ...

novel of the same title, produced by

Red Production Company Red Production Company is a British independent television production company owned by StudioCanal. Background Red Production Company was formed in 1998 by Nicola Shindler, a television producer who had worked on ''Our Friends in the North'' ...

for

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. The eight-episode series was released on 31 December 2021.

Plot

Megan Pierce is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

an mum living in the fictional suburb of Livingstone, and is hiding a murky past. She has found her

soulmate A soulmate is a person with whom one has a feeling of deep or natural affinity. This may involve similarity, love, romance, platonic relationships, comfort, intimacy, sexuality, sexual activity, spirituality, compatibility and trust. Defini ...

in Dave, and they have three great kids. Ray Levine was once a talented

documentary photographer Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life. It is typically undertaken as professional pho ...

. Losing the woman he loved changed him. Now he is in a dead-end job, playing a paparazzo-for-hire, pandering to rich kid pseudo-celebrities. Michael Broome is a

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

still haunted by a

cold case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

from seventeen years ago, when local husband and father, Stewart Green, disappeared without any trace. Green's wife still waits for Stewart to return. When another man goes missing on the anniversary of Stewart's disappearance, Broome takes the case in the hope of exorcising his demons. Lives are in danger of being ruined, relationships splintered, as Broome's investigations open old wounds, stir up memories, and threaten to expose the truth. Weaving their way through the spaces of what binds these three lives together are a couple of colourful

psychopaths Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...

, intent on completing their own agenda.

Cast

Cush Jumbo Cush Jumbo (born 23 September 1985) is a British actress and writer. She is best known for her leading role as attorney Lucca Quinn in the CBS drama series ''The Good Wife'' (2015–16) and the CBS All Access spin-off series ''The Good Fight'' ...

as Megan Pierce-Shaw / Cassie Morris, a former stripper, now engaged with three children. *

James Nesbitt William James Nesbitt (born 15 January 1965) is an actor from Northern Ireland. From 1987, Nesbitt spent seven years performing in plays that varied from the musical '' Up on the Roof'' (1987, 1989) to the political drama ''Paddywack'' (1994) ...

as DS Michael Broome, a burned-out police detective. * Richard Armitage as Ray Levine, a photojournalist looking for his missing girlfriend. *

Sarah Parish Sarah Parish (born 7 June 1968) is an English actress. She is known for her work on television series including: ''The Pillars of the Earth'', ''Peak Practice'', ''Hearts and Bones'', ''Cutting It'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Mistresses'', ''Merlin'', ' ...

as Lorraine Griggs, a mysterious woman from Megan's past. *

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

as Harry Sutton, a lawyer and a former associate of Megan's. *

Jo Joyner Joanne Mary Joyner (born 24 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Tanya Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Mandy Carter in Channel 4 drama ''Ackley Bridge''. Since 2018, she has starred as Luella Shakesp ...

as DC Erin Cartwright, Broome's detective partner and ex-wife. *

Youssef Kerkour Youssef Kerkour is a Moroccan-British actor. He is best known for portraying Syrian refugee Sami in the comedy-drama series '' Home'', a role for which he was nominated at the 2020 British Academy Television Awards. Early life and education Ke ...

as Fester, Ray's friend. * Daniel Francis as Dave Shaw, Megan's fiancé. * Dylan Francis as Jordan Shaw * Tallulah Byrne as Laura Shaw *

Andi Osho Yewande "Andi" Osho (born 27 January 1973) is a British stand-up comedian, actress and television presenter. Life and career Osho was born in Plaistow, East London,In an interview for BBC Radio 4 Extra's ''MacAuley & Co'' in 2011 at the Ed ...

as Simona *

Bethany Antonia Bethany Antonia (born 25 December 1997) is an English actress. As of 2022 she plays Lady Baela Targaryen in the HBO ''fantasy'' series ''House of the Dragon''. On television, she is known for her roles in the BBC iPlayer teen series '' Get Even ...

as Kayleigh Shaw * Rachel Andrews as Bea, Kayleigh's friend. * Poppy Gilbert as Barbie * Hyoie O'Grady as Ken *

Jack Shalloo Jack Shalloo is an English actor and singer. He has acted in musical theatre as Lewis in '' Our House'', Hamlet in ''Hamlet The Musical'' and Pete in ''Departure Lounge''. As a singer, Shalloo released the album ''London Soul'' in 2011. Life ...

as DCS Brian Goldberg, Broome's superior. * Phillip Gascoyne as Chief Inspector Gary Blakefiel *

Lindsay Armaou Lindsay Gael Christian Elaine Armaou ( el, Λίντσεϊ Αρμάου; born 18 December 1978) is a Greek-born Irish actress and singer. She is best known as a member of girl group B*Witched and for her roles as Sister Georgina in the crime thri ...

as Marlene Flynn *

Belinda Stewart-Wilson Belinda Stewart-Wilson (born 16 April 1971) is a British actress best known for her role as Polly McKenzie in ''The Inbetweeners''. Early life Stewart-Wilson was born on 16 April 1971 in Kensington, the youngest of three daughters of Lieutenan ...

as Sarah Green

Background

In August 2018, American writer

signed a five-year deal with

. Under the deal, Coben would have 14 of his novels adapted as Netflix series, with him serving as producer on all of them. ''Stay Close'' follows other Coben-created Netflix originals ''Safe'' (2018), ''The Stranger'', ''The Woods'' (both 2020), ''The Innocent'', and ''Gone for Good'' (both 2021).

Episodes

Production

Development

The series, comprising eight episodes, was announced by Netflix in October 2020. At the time, Danny Brocklehurst was announced as head writer for the series with Daniel O'Hara as lead Director.

Casting

The main cast were revealed to be

, Richard Armitage and

. In February 2021, Netflix announced that several new people would be joining the cast, including

, Daniel Francis,

, Bethany Antonia and Rachel Andrews.

Filming

Filming of ''Stay Close'' began on 18 February 2021 and wrapped on 30 July 2021. The series was filmed in

Brinscall Brinscall is a village in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. Located approximately five miles north-east of Chorley, Brinscall borders the similar-sized villages of Withnell and Abbey Village. Brinscall is part of the civil parish of W ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, and around

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, St Helens,

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Formby Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "For ...

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

and

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

including Runcorn's

Silver Jubilee Bridge The Silver Jubilee Bridge (originally the Runcorn–Widnes Bridge or informally the Runcorn Bridge) crosses the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal at River Mersey#Runcorn Gap, Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Borough of Halton ...

Jaume Plensa Jaume Plensa i Suñé (; born 23 August 1955) is a Spanish visual artist, sculptor, designer and engraver. He is a versatile artist who has also created opera sets, video projections and acoustic installations. He worked with renowned Catalan th ...

‘s sculpture ''Dream'' was featured heavily.

Music

The score was composed by David Buckley and Luke Richards.

Reception

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 92% approval rating with an average rating of 6.2/10, based on 13 critic reviews.

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 51 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* * {{Netflix original ended series (2019–present) 2021 British television series debuts 2021 British television series endings 2020s British crime drama television series 2020s British mystery television series 2020s British television miniseries English-language Netflix original programming British thriller television series Television shows based on American novels Television series about families Television series about missing people Television series by Red Production Company Television series by StudioCanal Television shows filmed in England