The Stranger on Netflix is an adaptation of the Harlan Coben book by the same name. Fair warning, if you plan to watch the eight episodes in this series, set some time aside because once you start watching, you won't want to stop! It really is that good.
So what is The Stranger all about? It's about secrets, lies, blackmail and murder with a healthy dose of whodunnit thrown in for good measure. Set in England, a seemingly normal family has their world turned upside down when a stranger approaches dad, Adam (Richard Armitage), and tells him a secret about his wife. Confronting his wife, Corrine (Dervla Kirwan), he unearths a whole can of worms that she claims she can explain, that is until she disappears. But that's only one aspect of this brilliantly played out drama.
Because we also have a Joanne (Siobhan Finneran from Downton Abbey), a detective who gets more than she bargained for when she's called to a crime scene that leads to a body of a teenager (still alive) who may hold the clue to the disappearance of Corrine.
And then we have The Stranger (Hannah John-Kamen), a young woman who is seemingly hell-bent on exposing the darkest secrets of the people she approaches. With no clue as to who she is or her end game, each of the main players are left chasing their tails trying to put the pieces of this giant puzzle together. It is a game of cat and mouse, and as the stakes get higher, can they stop the stranger from ruining any more lives? And where is Corrine?
The Stranger is a superb thriller drama that is utterly engrossing and ripe for a binge-watch. The casting is inspired with stand out performances from Siobhan Finneran, Stephen Rea and Richard Armitage and I wish I could tell you more about it but spoilers would just ruin it for you. So if you love a solid crime drama/thriller with more twists and turns than a helter-skelter, this is the show for you – particularly if you also enjoyed Safe which was also a Harlan Coben adaptation for Netflix.
