Is Netflix's Thriller Series 'Missing You' Worth the Watch?

This holiday season brought forth various mystery thriller series and movies including Netflix’s limited series ‘Missing You’.

The series is adapted from Harlan Coben’s novel of the same name. The limited series follows Detective Inspector Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazor) who discovers her ex-fiancé on a dating app more than eleven years after his disappearance.

The visuals of the series are not too dark and dreary, which makes it an intriguing watch. Director of Photography Phil Wood has done a good job with the cinematography of the series because the visuals are the right balance of cool and warm. These visuals complement the genre of the series and do not unnecessarily amplify the darkness or color in the scenes, making it very watchable.

The production designer Vanessa Hawkins and art director Andrea Coathupe have chosen good spaces and locations for the series, which give an insight into the characters’ personalities and add to the aesthetic of the series. Kat’s family home is warm and homely implying Kat’s mother Odette’s warm nature, while Josh’s home in the countryside indicates his love for nature.

The dog breeding farm is also a dreary space that is utilized well to heighten the tension in the scamming plot.

The subplot of the scamming dating app was very interesting and dark, which kept viewers hooked.  The developments in this plotline were good with twists and turns you do not expect if you have not read the book.

It is not a simple online scam, instead, it is darker than you expect it to be. This half of the story saves the series because the focus on Donovan’s plotline does not.

Along with the missing individuals’ case, Kat Donovan is trying to uncover the truth behind her father’s murder. This part of the story could have been wrapped up in one or two episodes, but it is extended for the whole duration of the series.

Viewers empathize with Donovan’s stubbornness in finding the real culprit, but she is very demanding and it does not make sense because the present time in the plot is after eleven years of her father’s death.

She is constantly nagging Stagger, Khol, and her mother for answers, but as a detective, she could have done her private investigations into the matter years ago. Kat also has repetitive flashbacks of her father and Josh, emphasizing how she struggles to move on, but it is tiring to watch and reduces the emotional depth of the character.

The screenwriter Victoria Asare-Archer has not done the character any justice because it is a detective with emotional scars, but the character is stereotypical with her stubborn nature.

This is not only the case with Kat but with other characters as well. They are one-dimensional characters with one simple function in the plot, which is to help Kat or reveal something to her, making them boring to watch. The main cast consists of Richard Armitage as Stagger who is monotonous and repetitive with what he says, which is a total waste of an actor.

Another actor that was wasted in the series was James Nesbitt who plays Calligan. He has little screen time and little function; when he makes his first appearance, one expects him to have a more elaborate function like being part of a thriller plotline.

‘Missing You’ could have been so much more if Asare-Archer had written a more intricate and complex script. The series is binge-worthy, but that does not make a good story and screenwriters and directors need to understand that.