Before 'Run Away' Hit No. 1 on Netflix, James Nesbitt Played a Shady Gangster in This Harlan Coben Miniseries

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When Harlan Coben's latest show Run Away premiered on Netflix on January 1, 2026, it was destined to be a hit. After all, with a plot filled with unexpected twists and turns, and incredible performances from the cast, the series was the perfect thriller for everyone to binge over the holidays. And, now only a few days after the premiere, Run Away has officially beaten Stranger Things and become Netflix's top title worldwide, per FlixPatrol.

In the series, James Nesbitt plays Simon Greene, a dad of three who's determined to find his eldest daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) after she's gone missing. But after a brutal confrontation with Paige's boyfriend, Aaron Corval (Thomas Flynn), with him showing up dead on the same day, Simon also becomes the prime suspect for his murder. But while Nesbitt's lead performance in Run Away certainly carries the show, fans of Coben and Netflix's TV shows have seen him command the screen before. In Missing You, which premiered on January 1, 2025, Nesbitt played a powerful and shady gangster named Calligan, and it showed a whole new side of him.

What Is 'Missing You' About?

Missing You follows hardened detective Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar) after she finds her former fiancée Josh (Ashley Walters), who disappeared 11 years ago without a trace, in a random dating app. When she interrogates him online, he blocks her and leaves her with no explanation – again. In her job at the head of the missing person's unit, Kat is investigating the disappearance of Rishi Migari (Rudi Dharmalingam). But after a boy approaches her to find his missing mother, who last went out with Josh, the mystery deepens, and Kat uncovers a secret that makes her come face to face with the ghost of her past.

In the meantime, Kat continues looking into the unsolved murder of her father (Lenny Henry), who died shortly before Josh's first disappearance. In doing so, she discovers some of her dad's deepest secrets – including his corrupt ties to Nesbitt's Calligan. In Coben's signature style, the miniseries follows each of these mysteries as they take unexpected turns, make shocking connections, and come to a satisfying conclusion by the end.

In Run Away, Nesbitt captivates audiences as a relentless and desperate dad. Looking for answers in every corner, and feeling like his wife Ingrid (Minnie Driver) isn't exactly helping, Simon goes to lengths to find out what happened, even if it means he goes viral online for beating his daughter's boyfriend. But while Simon is every bit helpless and distraught, Nesbitt's portrayal as Calligan is confident, arrogant and manipulative. In his first meeting with Kat, in an art museum no less, he's calm and collected, proving to Kat that while he's no saint, he could be quite an asset to her investigation.

Together, Kat and Calligan establish a so-called "detante," one in which he helps her in her investigation, and she looks the other way the next time his name pops up. By the end of their conversation, Calligan gives Kat a vital hint about her dad's killer, and the motives the one person who confessed to his murder might have for lying. Kat is one step closer to finding the truth, and Calligan becomes the unexpected helper.

With that said, while Run Away continues to reign supreme on Netflix, with twists and turns until the very last scene, another one of Coben's miniseries, Missing You, is certainly worth a watch. In the five-episode series, another set of mysteries unravel, and the performances, including Nesbitt's cold and calculated gangster, leaves viewers at the edge of their seats.