Netflix’s ‘Missing You’ Lands in Time for New Year Binge Watch

In this photo illustration a computer screen displays the Netflix logo on March 31, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. (AFP)
In this photo illustration a computer screen displays the Netflix logo on March 31, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. (AFP)
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Netflix’s ‘Missing You’ Lands in Time for New Year Binge Watch

In this photo illustration a computer screen displays the Netflix logo on March 31, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. (AFP)
In this photo illustration a computer screen displays the Netflix logo on March 31, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. (AFP)

It’s Netflix’s resolution every new year to give viewers a headscratcher in January.

Since 2020, the streamer has released a UK miniseries based on thriller book by Harlan Coben over the holidays. It seems to have paid off: “Fool Me Once,” starring Michelle Keegan, Adeel Akhtar and Joanna Lumley, launched this past January and became what Netflix says was one of their most watched shows of the year, amassing 108 million views.

2025’s seasonal suspense series is “Missing You,” based on Coben’s 2014 New York Times bestseller. It stars Rosalind Eleazar (“Slow Horses”) as Detective Inspector Kat Donovan, a police officer who specializes in finding missing people — apart from the fiance that vanished 11 years earlier.

“They know Jan. 1 is the sweet spot for them,” says actor Richard Armitage, who has appeared in each winter Coben adaptation, which relocates the stories from the books' America to the north of England. “People have ownership over the show now, so like, ‘I want my Harlan Coben show on New Year’s Day. Give me my Harlan Coben fix.’”

“It’s perfect timing for the release, to be honest,” says co-star Ashley Walters. “Most people are going to be hung over or, you know, just not have anything to do with the day.”

The show opens with the shock of Donovan's ex-fiance (Walters) popping up on a dating app, over a decade after she came home one day to find him gone.

“I’ve ghosted people before,” laughs Armitage. “Just people you don’t want to talk to anymore. Not digitally though.”

Another star, Jessica Plummer, isn’t a fan of those who disappear without saying goodbye, though.

“I’d just feel too guilty,” she admits, calling it “cowardly and lazy — sorry Richard!”

Eleazar promises twists and turns along the way, adding that the actors weren’t initially given the final two scripts and had to turn to the book to find out what happens.

Coben “really is a genius at taking you up the wrong track,” says Eleazar. “You’re so sure that this time you’ve got it right and it’s this person or this thing, but you are inevitably always wrong.”

“I would love to know, actually, how he starts a book, you know? Does it start with an idea or does he think of the most inconceivable idea and go, ‘That’s how it’s going to end’?” she adds.

Armitage agrees that “Missing You” does justice to the “hair-raising” shock ending of the book; “It’s like the rug is pulled away at the last minute.”

And while audiences at home can binge-watch the whole five-part series as 2025 is still finding its feet, the cast will be busy with a variety of pastimes.

Lenny Henry, who portrays Kat’s father, jokes that he usually wakes up to a new year surrounded by roast potatoes, while wearing pajamas.

Armitage likes to be outside and start fresh by skiing down a mountain, while Eleazar has plans to celebrate in style: She and a group of friends have a tradition where they rent a castle and dress up in themed costumes.

Past New Year's Eve parties have included donning 18th century garb in France and last year’s Versace-themed fete.

“I will be celebrating and really hoping that everyone loves this show on the 1st,” she says.



‘Severance,’ ‘The Penguin’ Lead Nominations for TV’s Emmy Awards

US actor Adam Scott attends PaleyFest LA screening of the season finale of "Severance" at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, on March 21, 2025. (AFP)
US actor Adam Scott attends PaleyFest LA screening of the season finale of "Severance" at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, on March 21, 2025. (AFP)
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‘Severance,’ ‘The Penguin’ Lead Nominations for TV’s Emmy Awards

US actor Adam Scott attends PaleyFest LA screening of the season finale of "Severance" at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, on March 21, 2025. (AFP)
US actor Adam Scott attends PaleyFest LA screening of the season finale of "Severance" at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, on March 21, 2025. (AFP)

Psychological thriller "Severance" from Apple TV+ and HBO's crime drama "The Penguin" stacked up the most nominations for Emmy Awards on Tuesday, outpacing "The Studio" and "The White Lotus" in the contest for television's highest honors.

"Severance" received a leading 27 nominations and was nominated for the top prize of best drama alongside Star Wars series "Andor,The Pitt,The White Lotus" and others.

"The Penguin," set in the DC Comics universe and starring Colin Farrell, earned 24 nominations and will compete for best limited series against Netflix hit "Adolescence," among others.

Hollywood satire "The Studio," an Apple TV+ show featuring Seth Rogen as a nervous film executive, and HBO's "The White Lotus," about murder and misdeeds at a luxury resort, received 23 each.

"What the heck?!! We never thought this would happen," Rogen said in a statement.

Comedy nominees included defending champion "Hacks," previous winner "The Bear,Nobody Wants This" and "Abbott Elementary."

The 23 nominations for "The Studio" tied the record for a comedy in a single season, set last year by Chicago restaurant tale "The Bear."

Winners of the Emmys will be announced at a red-carpet ceremony in Los Angeles, broadcast live on CBS on September 14. Comedian Nate Bargatze will host.

The television industry is undergoing a contraction as media companies curtail the sky-high spending they shelled out to compete in the shift to streaming platforms led by Netflix.

Longtime Emmy favorite HBO and the HBO Max streaming service topped all programmers with 142 nominations, a record for the network.

Walt Disney collected 137 nominations, including six for ABC's "Abbott Elementary," one of the few broadcast shows in the Emmy mix. "Andor," on Disney+, received 14.

Netflix garnered 120 nods and Apple scored 81, its highest total since launching its streaming service in 2019.

"Severance" tells the story of office workers who undergo a procedure to make them forget their home life at work, and vice versa.

"It's distinctive in every way - in terms of its storytelling, in terms of style, in terms of its directing, its tone," said Matt Cherniss, head of programming at Apple TV+.

Star Adam Scott, a best actor nominee, said the cast was unsure how viewers would respond.

"The fact that it's resonated at all has been just such an incredible feeling," Scott said. "We thought it was something that might be too weird."

WYLE, FORD IN THE RUNNING

Noah Wyle received his first Emmy nomination since 1999 for his role as an emergency room doctor on "The Pitt." Wyle was nominated five times for "ER" but never won.

"I'm humbled and grateful," Wyle said of the recognition for "The Pitt," which received 13 total nominations.

Harrison Ford, 83, earned his first Emmy nod, for playing a grumpy therapist on "Shrinking."

Ron Howard, the former "Happy Days" star turned Oscar-winning director, also landed his first acting nomination, a guest actor nod for playing himself on "The Studio." He will compete with fellow director Martin Scorsese, also a guest star on the show.

Other notable acting nominees included Farrell and Cristin Milioti for "The Penguin,The Bear" actors Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri, "Hacks" stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, Kathy Bates for "Matlock" and Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey for "The Last of Us."

Eight "White Lotus" actors were recognized.

"This is a bunch of cherries on the icing on the cake that was the gift of playing such a tortured and lonely human," said Jason Isaacs, who portrayed a suicidal father facing financial ruin on the show.

Beyonce also made the Emmys list. Her halftime performance during a National Football League game on Netflix was nominated for best live variety special.

Missing from the field was Netflix's popular Korean drama "Squid Game," while the final season of previous drama winner "The Handmaid's Tale" received just one nod.

Winners will be chosen by the roughly 26,000 performers, directors, producers and other members of the Television Academy.