Netflix Orders Harlan Coben’s ‘Stay Close’ Adaptation Starring Cush Jumbo, James Nesbitt & Richard Armitage
After the success of Harlan Coben’s ‘The Stranger’ and ‘Safe’, Netflix are teaming up once again with the same producers, RED Production Company, to adapt Coben’s #1 New York Times bestselling novel ‘Stay Close‘.
The new eight-part drama will follow three key characters whose dark secrets resurface, setting off a chain of events which threatens to destroy their lives. Cush Jumbo (‘The Good Fight’, ‘The Good Wife’, ‘Deadwater Fell’), James Nesbitt (‘Bloody Sunday’, ‘The Missing’) and Richard Armitage (‘The Stranger’, ‘The Hobbit’, ‘Hannibal’) are confirmed in the three lead roles, with Sarah Parish (‘Bancroft’, ‘Medici’) also joining.
“I’m so excited to work alongside Netflix, Nicola and the whole team on Stay Close,” commented Cush Jumbo. “Can’t wait to get my teeth into such a brilliant British thriller.”
With trademark thrills, gripping suspense, and a crime to solve, ‘Stay Close’ questions how much you really know someone. Three people living comfortable lives each conceal dark secrets that even the closest to them would never suspect; Megan (Jumbo), a working mother of three; Ray (Armitage), the once-promising documentary photographer, now stuck in a dead-end job pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids, and Broome (Nesbitt), a detective who’s unable to let go of a missing person’s cold case. Lorraine (Parish), an old friend from Megan’s past, delivers some shocking news which will impact on all three characters. As the past comes back to haunt them, threatening to ruin their lives and the lives of those around them, what will be their next move?
“The team at RED are a northern powerhouse of world-class TV,” adds James Nesbitt. “They are a benchmark for quality drama, and I’m thrilled to be part of such a great production. The scripts drew me in from the get-go and I am looking forward to starting filming.”
The limited series reunites long term collaborators Nicola Shindler and Richard Fee as executive producers, alongside creator Harlan Coben and Danny Brocklehurst, who is lead writer again. In keeping with previous adaptations, ‘Stay Close’ will relocate the story from the US to UK shores.
“I am so happy and excited to Stay Close (pun intended) with Danny Brocklehurst, Nicola Shindler and Richard Fee — the same team that made The Stranger, Safe and The Five,” said Coben. “And talk about a dream-come-true cast – Cush Jumbo, an incendiary and awesome talent; Jimmy Nesbitt, a legendary actor I always wanted to collaborate with; and wow, Richard Armitage back again! Netflix has been a wonderful home, and from what I’ve seen so far, Stay Close will be our most gripping and binge-able series yet.”
‘Stay Close’ is the latest Netflix project for Harlan Coben, as part of his current five-year deal with the streamer to develop 14 of his titles into film and TV dramas, which includes Polish original ‘The Woods’, Spanish original ‘The Innocent’ starring Mario Casas and directed by Oriol Paulo, the film ‘Six Years’, written and directed by David Ayer, and ‘Gone for Good’, which is currently filming in France.
“It’s such a pleasure to be setting off on another thrill-ride with Harlan, Danny and Nicola, as we dive into a brand new story about people who keep shocking secrets from their families and closest friends,” commented Richard Fee, Executive Producer for RED Production Company. “We’re excited to have the opportunity again to hook Netflix viewers around the world with a compelling mystery that will keep people up late into the night.”
‘Stay Close’ is a RED Production Company production commissioned for Netflix. Nicola Shindler (‘Years and Years’, ‘Happy Valley’, ‘Scott & Bailey’), writers Harlan Coben (‘The Woods’) and Danny Brocklehurst (‘Brassic’, ‘Come Home’) and Richard Fee (‘The Stranger’, ‘Prey’) are the Executive Producers of the new eight-part series, created by Harlan Coben, and based on his best-selling novel. Juliet Charlesworth (‘Happy Valley’, ‘Traces’) is series producer and Daniel O’Hara (‘The Stranger’, ‘Brassic’) is lead director and an executive producer.
‘Stay Close‘ is due to go into production in early 2021 and filming will take place in and around Manchester and the North West of England.
