While this post is primarily about Armitage’s new Netflix limited series, I also want to say that I am missing you all, even though I haven’t been able somehow to get myself back into blogging (yet?). I am also still missing our blogging friend Servetus, who we lost in 2024… she made a big impact on me and she still crosses my mind pretty much every day.

But now over to the Missing You 5-episode series which debuted on New Year’s Day. Have you watched it yet?

I’ve been known to enjoy reading some of Harlan Coben’s books. They are entertaining if somewhat formulaic. I also watched and liked some of the Coben series on Netflix, including The Five, Safe (starring Michael C. Hall of Dexter fame), and The Stranger (starring one Richard C. Armitage). But I really just couldn’t watch Fool Me Once, even with the draw of Mr. Armitage and also Joanna Lumley (loved Ab Fab!). I could not relate to the characters or story at all and I abandoned it after 1 or 2 episodes. (Did you like that one?)

Still, I jumped into Missing You and, for the most part, enjoyed it. Of course now I have the ear worm of John Waite’s 1984 song “Missing You” on continuous play in my head! (And it has a place in the story, too.) The story itself revolves around a police team, focusing on DI Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar, Uncle Vanya) and her colleagues, friends, and family. One thread follows two current missing person investigations, while two other overlapping threads relate to the 11-year-old murder of Donavan’s father and the disappearance of her fiancé shortly after. Frankly, the first one is to me preposterously over-the-top, while the other two threads are more interesting.

The best thing about the series by far is Eleazar’s wonderful acting, as well as that of Irish actor James Nesbitt (The Hobbit) and also Marc Warren, both of whom play criminals.

As for Armitage, his roles seem to be getting smaller. In this case, he plays Donovan’s boss, DCI Ellis Stagger, with some of his lines consisting of “Donovan, a word…” or similar, although there is more involvement later in the series. Was it a self-fulfilling prophesy when he was saying that no one would want to see his 50(+)-year-old body with his shirt off anymore? Is that why he is not getting bigger roles? Or did he make “mistakes” with his career trajectory by playing it safe? But maybe safe and secure is what he most wanted.

Either way, I find his acting less interesting to watch now, as I think he falls back on his tried and true acting devices — looking under his brows to convey seriousness or menace, stroking his beard in thought, deepening and softening his voice to show concern, etc. It feels lazy to me, rather than him actually losing himself in the character. Mind you, there wasn’t much character to lose himself in. And maybe he doesn’t feel he needs to lose himself in a role for a Netflix series with his friend Harlan Coben. It appears to me that he is primarily there to support the production and its promotion and to keep his face in the public eye, not to do any serious acting.

What did you think?