If you’re part of the Harlan Coben fan club (us too), you’ve probably spent many hours hooked to the impossible-to-predict twists that dominate his TV shows. Fortunately for you, we’re here to encourage you to spend some more time with his characters as his mind-bending crime thriller, Safe, is now available to stream on Netflix – and, if you ask us, it’s his best series yet.
Across eight episodes, we follow widowed father Tom Delaney (Michael C. Hall), who is finding life as a single father difficult, to say the least, and it’s only going to get more challenging as his eldest daughter, Jenny (Amy James-Kelly), goes missing. It, is, as those familiar with the king of plot twists will expect, pacy, unpredictable and about as addictive as crime thrillers get.
With the series available to watch tonight, here's everything you need to know about Safe before you tune in, including the plot, cast and release date.
What is Safe about?
The eight-part series, which was first released in 2018, is set in a high-security gated community and follows Tom Delaney (Michael C. Hall), who’s grieving the loss of his wife from cancer and is struggling to raise their two daughters alone. Sadly, his situation is only about to get worse – much worse, in fact.
The loss puts a strain on his relationship with his two daughters, Jenny (Amy James-Kelly) and Carrie (Isabelle Allen), and when Jenny mysteriously disappears at a house party, it seems the community they live in might have something to do with it. Needless to say, Tom will do anything to track down his missing daughter – and watching him do so is exactly the sort of mind-bending viewing you’d expect from a Harlan Coben series.
Over the course of the series, we meet many of the residents of the community in which Tom lives – and discover that many of their stories are intertwined. XX
What to read next
Actor Michael C. Hall told CBS News of the series: "There were three moments when I read the first script that my jaw dropped. That was a good sign. It was a fusion of so many things: a thriller, a family drama, a character study.
Explaining the nuances of his character, he added: “It was nice to play someone to whom crazy things are happening to. He’s six months from being widowed and is a newly-single father of two girls - one 16, one 12 - and he's finding himself a little out of his depth in terms of his ability to be a good father and have any sense of what's going on with them.
“And I guess one important thing he reveals to his friend at the beginning of the first episode is that he's downloaded this software that allows him to track her messages on her phone.”
Who’s in the cast of Safe?
The cast of Safe includes:
- Michael C. Hall (Dexter) as Tom Delaney
- Amy James-Kelly (Military Wives) as Lucy
- Amanda Abbington (Sherlock) as DS Sophie Mason
- Emmett J. Scanlan (The Tower) as Josh Mason
- Audrey Fleurot (Women at War) as Zoé Chahal
- Marc Warren (Van der Valk) as Pete Mayfield
- Hannah Arterton (Walking on Sunshine) as Emma Castle
- Emmett J. Scanlan (The Teacher) as Josh Mason
- Joplin Sibtain (House of the Dragon) Neil Chahal
Is there a trailer for Safe?
Yes, you can watch the trailer for Safe below.
Is Safe any good?
Yes – it’s one of those series that you press play on and somehow find yourself still watching several hours later. The cast is excellent, the plot twists take you by total surprise and there are none of the cliches we’ve become all too familiar with in more recent crime thrillers. Our verdict? 10/10.
How can I watch Safe?
Safe is available to watch now on Netflix.
What other Harlan Coben thrillers can I watch now?
If you haven’t yet seen Harlan Coben’s latest offering, I Will Find You, it’s a great place to start. The central mystery revolves around father David Burroughs (Sam Worthington) who’s in prison for supposedly murdering his son. But the truth is, David didn't commit a murder at all - and his son may well still be alive. I Will Find You is available to watch on Netflix. For those who fancy being taken back to one of Harlan’s earliest series, we’d suggest The Five. Four childhood friends who are now all adults are forced to revisit a tragedy from their past: the disappearance of their friend whose DNA has been discovered at a murder scene – but how? You can watch The Five on Sky and NOW.
