Harlan Coben’s The Stranger (and why it’s going to be your next Netflix binge)

At the end of January Netflix bring us an 8 part adaptation of Harlan Coben’s page turning thriller The Stranger, find out why it’s going to be the next must see Binge Watch.

What is The Stranger and why are we going to love it

Like much of Coben’s ouvre the setting is suburbia, here though transplanted from the US setting of the original novel to the UK, the plot follows Adam Price who seems to lead a charmed existence. Two wonderful sons, a career in law, and most of all, a watertight marriage to his soulmate, Corinne, a teacher at the local school. Adam is living the dream. Until one night a stranger sits down next to him in a bar. ‘She lied, Adam. Corinne made it up, she was never pregnant. One more thing, if I were you, I’d run DNA checks on your two boys.’

As quickly as the stranger came, she is gone. Adam tries going after her, but it’s too late. As the stranger’s words eat away at Adam, he begins to investigate his wife. To his horror, his greatest fears are realised. When Adam confronts Corinne with evidence that she faked a pregnancy, she flees, leaving only a text message: ‘MAYBE WE NEED SOME TIME APART. YOU TAKE CARE OF THE KIDS. DON’T TRY TO CONTACT ME. IT WILL BE OKAY. JUST GIVE ME A FEW DAYS… PLEASE’….

Things quickly snowball from there.

Who are the main stars of The Stranger

Heart-throb Richard Armitage has the lead role as Adam but the star cast also includes Dervla Kirwan as Adam’s wife Corinne, the mysterious stranger is played by Hannah John-Kamen who has a couple of genre credits to her name with appearances in Game of Thrones and Black Mirror. Meanwhile the legendary Jennifer Saunders is playing her very first straight role in the series. Jennifer plays a character called Heidi. Siobhan Finneran will also appear as cop DS Johanna Griffin. Other key roles are taken by legends Stephen Rea and Anthony Head. Jennifer Saunders makes her serious acting debut in The Stranger.

Who is behind the series.

The series is by RED productions who also adapted Coben’s Safe for Netflix last year. Respected scribe Danny Brocklehurst has also once again written the scripts as he did for Safe. Brocklehurst said “It’s fantastic to reunite with Netflix, Harlan and RED for another complex, emotional thriller. Richard Armitage is perfect for the role of Adam, and I can’t wait to bring our binge-able new drama to life.” Netflix and Coben also teamed up for tec drama The Five.

Show me the trailer

Check out the tension filled trailer below.

When is the Stranger on Netflix and how many episodes are there

The Stranger consists of 8 hour long episodes and drops on Netflix on January 30.