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Stay Close comes from Harlan Coben, who also brought us 2020’s The Stranger, an engaging, but occasionally daft, drama. However, I loved that it was set in my home town of Stockport.
The basic premise is that Carlton Flynn (Connor Calland) goes missing, seventeen years to the day that a man called Stewart Green also did. However, before that, he finds he has other problems on his mind with his drink getting spiked, even though it’s right in front of him, leading him to run out of the club to find the person who drugged him.
However, who leaves their drink alone in a club? And who has time to leave it alone? Just neck it and carry on!
Meanwhile, Megan (Cush Jumbo) goes out for a hen party night out with the girls, as she’s about to get married to Dave (Daniel Francis). On the way back, she finds a letter has been delivered for her, even though it’s the dead of night, and while I know the Royal Mail deliver later than the morning trips they used to make, it’s still unlikely to be from them.
Along the way, cops Michael (James Nesbitt) and Erin (Jo Joyner) are looking into Carlton’s disappearance, although whatever revelations they come across, none are likely to be as ridiculous as the fact they’re a former married couple and they’re allowed to work together.
Richard Armitage plays Ray, a photographer with a limp, and episode two shows how more is revealed about how Carlton’s disappearance came about, but while the second episode is a bit more interesting than the first, I’m not quite sure it’s enough to keep me watching. If other reviews happen to say it’s amazing, then I might get back into it, but it really would have to be AMAZING.
Then again, in another Harlan Coben-set world where everyone has secrets, we did get at least one revelation which felt like total nonsense, and threw the baby out with the bathwater, leaving me unimpressed. Obviously, I won’t say what happened… but when you see it, you’ll know.
Oh, and even though there’s 17 years between the events being discussed and now, of course, everyone looks EXACTLY the same.
Stay Close is not available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but is on Netflix from Friday December 31st.
Episode 1 Score: 1/10
Episode 2 Score: 2/10
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 45-55 mins per episode (6 episodes)
Release date: December 31st 2021
Studio: Netflix
Format: 2.00:1
Series Directors: Lindy Heymann, Daniel O’Hara
Producers: Juliet Charlesworth, Sheila Nortley
Novel: Harlan Coben
Screenplay: Daniel Brocklehurst, Lawrence Kasdan
Music: David Buckley
Cast:
Megan Pierce: Cush Jumbo
Michael Broome: James Nesbitt
Erin Cartwright: Jo Joyner
Lorraine Griggs: Sarah Parish
Ray Levine: Richard Armitage
Carlton Flynn: Connor Calland
Harry Sutton: Eddie Izzard
Joe Mottle: Rick S Carr
Jordan Shaw: Dylan Francis
Laura Shaw: Tallulah Byrne
Dave Shaw: Daniel Francis
Kayleigh Shaw: Bethany Antonia
Shelley: Rachael Elizabeth
Micha: Elliot Morris
Fester: Youssef Kerkour
Frances Shaw: Alibe Parsons
Leanna Morgan: Steph Lacey
Rudy: Aidan Kelly
Niall Green: Oliver Woollford
Sarah Green: Belinda Stewart-Wilson
Stewart Green: Rod Hunt
Receptionist: Jenny Platt
Barbie: Poppy Gilbert
Bea: Rachel Andrews
Simona Farr: Andi Osho
Stewart Green: Rod Hunt
Tawny Allure: Isabelle Connolly
Jamal Alade: Leon Annor
Brian Goldberg: Jack Shalloo
Priya Suwal: Nila Aalia
CI. Gary Blakefield: Philip Gascoyne
Ken: Hyoie O’Grady
Del Flynn: Ross Boatman
Marlene Flynn: Lindsay Armaou
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.