David Farnor | On 20, Apr 2018

The safer the street, the darker the secrets. That’s the truth about British suburban life that Michael C Hall is learning in Netflix’s new drama, Safe.

The eight-part thriller is the closest the streaming giant has come to the kind of gripping crime drama that British broadcasters have made their own. Even the premise recalls Lennie James’ recent Save Me, released by Sky Atlantic, as Hall plays Tom Delaney, a widowed surgeon whose teenage daughter goes missing – and, as he searches for her, begins to unearth secrets about the people closest to him.

Partners, children, lovers, parents, and friends – does anyone really know the people they love? And how well do people know Tom? The twisting thriller is created by author Harlan Coben and written by Danny Brocklehurst and promises to tell the truth about Tom’s guilt over his wife’s death, his daughter Jenny’s own secret about that night, and the secrets that threaten to blow families and a community apart.

The Dexter star is joined by Amanda Abbington, Emmet J Scanlan (The Fall), Audrey Fleurot, Marc Warren (Hustle) and Nigel Lindsay (Four Lions).

Safe premieres on Netflix on Thursday 10th May. Here’s the first trailer:

 

Marc Warren, Audrey Fleurot, Emmett J Scanlan join Netflix’s Safe

24th July 2017

Marc Warren, Audrey Fleurot and Emmett J Scanlan have joined the cast for Safe, Netflix’s new series from Harlan Coben.

The eight-part thriller, created by the best-selling author and written for the screen by Shameless’ Danny Brocklehurst, has begun filming in Manchester.

Produced by RED Production Company for CANAL+ and Netflix, the series was announced earlier this summer, with Michael C Hall (Dexter) and Amanda Abbington (Sherlock) attached as the leads.

Hall plays Tom, a paediatric surgeon and single father of two teenage daughters who is struggling to deal with the loss of his wife from cancer more than two years previously. Living and raising his children in a beautiful gated community surrounded by close friends, Tom finds himself on a journey that transforms everyone he knows.

Abbington plays Sophie, a formidable detective sergeant who lives in the same gated community as Tom and, like him, is raising two kids single-handedly.

“The collaboration of Harlan Coben, Danny Brocklehurst and RED Productions is what drew me to this role. It’s a fantastic project and I’m thrilled to be working with Michael C Hall and the rest of the talented cast. It’s a great story and I hope people will love it,” said Abbington in a statement.

Now, the same combination of talent has drawn some additional names to the project. Emmet J Scanlan (The Fall) will play Josh, Sophie’s husband from whom she is now separated. He is desperately clinging onto his youth – going to gigs, partying all night and generally letting his family down at every opportunity.

Best-known for her roles as Lady of the lake in Kaamelott and Joséphine Karlsson in Spiral, Audrey Fleurot stars as Zoe, a teacher living in a quintessentially English suburb with her husband of 20 years. She may appear to be the model innocence but when Neil’s back is turned we catch glimpses of an altogether darker and more inscrutable woman.

Marc Warren (Hustle, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell) will also star as Pete, Tom’s best friend and sidekick. They served in the army together, they work in the hospital together and he’s pretty much a second father to Tom’s daughters. As we follow Pete’s story we’ll start to realise he’s hiding a secret he can’t even share with Tom.

Also joining the line-up are Nigel Lindsay (Victoria, Four Lions) and Laila Rouass (Holby, Stella, Footballers Wives) who play happily married couple, JoJo and Lauren Marshall.

Nigel comments: “It’s a good sign when you read the first three episodes of a script and you’re desperate to know what happens next. I read Safe and was hooked. I’m a big fan of Harlan Coben and Michael C Hall and am really looking forward to getting stuck in.”

Safe is executive produced by Michael C Hall, Nicola Shindler, Harlan Coben, Danny Brocklehurst and RED’s Head of Development, Richard Fee. The series will run on free-to-air channel C8 (CANAL+ Group) in France and Netflix globally outside of France in 2018.

 

Safe: Michael C Hall to star in Netflix’s Harlan Coben series

12th July 2017

Michael C. Hall will star in Safe, Netflix’s new series from Harlan Coben.

The streaming giant is teaming up with France’s Canal+ to produce the thriller, which will span eight episodes. The show continues the bestselling author’s move from the big screen to the small screen, with his first project, The Five, airing on Sky last year. That was penned by Danny Brocklehurst (Shameless) and then picked up by Canal+ to broadcast in France.

Now, that team is reuniting, with Brocklehurst writing Safe and Canal+ already on board as the project’s French home. Netflix will release the series globally outside of France, with Studiocanal’s UK-based company Red making the series – and selling off any remaining and secondary rights.

Safe follows a British paediatric surgeon raising two teenage daughters, Jenny and Carrie, following the death of his wife. The family seems safe in a gated community, but when the eldest sneaks out to a party, a murder and disappearance follow.

Coben’s style is ideal for compulsive binge-watching, Nicola Shindler who runs Red, told Variety.

“The serialized nature of this, and Harlan’s way of storytelling, lends itself to streaming. He’s all about the hook of a story,” she explained. “After The Five, he wanted to write something about family and how we build walls to keep out the bad people, but what if they’re on the inside? It’s about how far you’d go to protect your family.”

The addition of Michael C. Hall to the mix is the icing on the cake. The Dexter star met Shindler while he was performing in David Bowie musical Lazarus in London’s West End, apparently signing on to play the surgeon as soon as he read the script.

Amanda Abbington will co-star in the project, which is currently shooting in Manchester and Cheshire.

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