Entertainment

8 Years Later, Harlan Coben's First Netflix Miniseries Is Still His Best

Nairavoice · Nov 2, 2026 · 8 min read

With over 80 million books in print worldwide, best-selling author Harlan Coben knows what makes the perfect thriller. His first show, Safe, streamed on Netflix in 2018 and was met with rave reviews from audiences and critics. Safe is set in a secure, gated community and follows the journey of widowed surgeon Tom Delaney (Michael C. Hall), who is struggling to raise his two daughters following the death of his wife a year ago.

When Tom’s eldest daughter Lucy (Amy James-Kelly) goes missing, he enlists the help of his new girlfriend, Detective Sergeant Sophie Mason (Amanda Abbington), in a frantic search for her whereabouts. Safe proved itself to be a gutsy, thrill-a-minute show from the get-go and remains a true classic. In the first episode alone, viewers are met with an affluent family determined to protect their daughter, a body in a swimming pool, and a father who will do anything to track down his missing child. Chilling plot twists and clever red herrings help make Safe a masterful example of bingeworthy television that will still satisfy the appetite of today’s modern audience.

How ‘Safe’s Early Development Shaped a Successful Netflix Show

Created by Harlan Coben and penned by BAFTA award-winning British writer Danny Brockelhurst, Safe had solid foundations from its earliest days in development. A key component to the show’s success is that it was produced by StudioCanal’s British company Red, the same team behind the Russell T. Davies cult classic Queer as Folk and Sally Wainwright’s hit show Happy Valley.

This triple threat of industry professionals knows how to bring a story to life, boasting a proven track record of success when developing gripping British television shows. Safe wasn’t just thrown together in a bid to offer viewers a quick entertainment fix; it was meticulously crafted and expertly shaped by all involved, and the finished series reflects this. Speaking candidly regarding just how deeply both Harlan Coben and Danny Brockelhurst were involved in bringing the show to life, Red’s Nicola Schindler told Variety:

“The two writers were “100%” involved in every aspect of the production, from casting through to production design. “Both Harlan and Danny were sent every audition [tape], approved every head of department, watched the rushes every day, and attended every edit. They were both all over it. They were showrunners,”

“The two writers were “100%” involved in every aspect of the production, from casting through to production design. “Both Harlan and Danny were sent every audition [tape], approved every head of department, watched the rushes every day, and attended every edit. They were both all over it. They were showrunners,”

Safe also hit the nail firmly on the head when it came to its casting. The first major coup was signing Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Six Feet Under) in the role of Tom Delaney. In a far cry from his Dexter days, Hall embarks on the role of a suburban dad turned amateur sleuth, desperate to solve his daughter’s disappearance. The magic of this particular casting comes from the fact that, throughout the show, Tom remains relatable. Sure, some of his moves are a little eccentric and wild (bugging Lucy’s phone and running into burning buildings), but, ultimately, people can identify with a father doing everything in his power to save his child. Hall mastering a British accent offered fans of Dexter Morgan a chance to embrace seeing the actor in a new light, distancing him from a world of blood splatter analysis and serial killing in favor of the mundane life of an upper-class parent.

A Stellar Supporting Cast Gives ‘Safe’ Relatability and Charm

Image via Netflix

The idea of Safe being set in a secure gated community filled with such unscrupulous characters is a genius move. This seemingly close-knit neighborhood sets the stage for several characters’ stories to be perfectly intertwined. Many viewers can relate to living in a community where nosy neighbors know everyone’s business and have likely gossiped about what secrets their fellow residents may be hiding. It’s the chaos of such complex storylines taking place in what should be a “normal” setting that makes Safe so compelling. The supporting cast does an incredible job of conjuring a believable world for their characters. Hall and Abbington may be the lead stars, but the supporting cast provides the glue that holds the story together.

The incredibly talented Emmett J. Scanlan (Kin, Fool Me Once) doesn’t get nearly enough screen time here, but delivers a solid and believable performance nonetheless. Amy James-Kelly (Military Wives, Three Families) plays Lucy, whose headstrong and naive nature is captured perfectly and who turns from an angsty teen into a terrified and vulnerable captive. Marc Warren (Band of Brothers, The Good Wife) brings an infectious likability to Pete Mayfield, whose chemistry with Tom adds a relatable element of male friendship. Pete is also used as a red herring on multiple occasions, including in Episode 1, where he’s initially framed as a suspect until more facts emerge to exonerate him.

A great detective is really just a personality with a method attached,
which is why we keep remaking the same four of them. Here is yours, what it says about you, and the
case for them being the best in the business.

You let people think you are not a threat and then you simply
never go away. Columbo is the only major detective show that tells you who did it in the
first ten minutes, because the pleasure was never the puzzle, it was watching a rich man
slowly realise he is in trouble.

You are underestimated constantly, and you have stopped minding because it keeps
working.
The show invented the inverted detective format for television and nobody has bettered
it since.
Peter Falk won four Emmys for the part and played him across five decades.
Your flaw is that one more question is rarely one more question.

You are the most interesting person in the room and you know
exactly how to use it. Rian Johnson built Blanc as a gentleman detective who is also an
outsider everywhere he goes, which lets him be charming at people who would never otherwise
talk to him.

You read a room in seconds and you are not above performing a little to speed things up.
Rian Johnson was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Knives Out in
2020.
Wake Up Dead Man arrived on Netflix in December, making three Blanc films in six years.
Your risk is enjoying the performance so much that people stop taking the point
seriously.

Everybody tells you everything, and you have never once asked
them to. Jessica Fletcher is a crime novelist from a small town in Maine who is so warm and
so obviously trustworthy that suspects confess to her essentially as a social courtesy.

You are the person friends call first, and you have a frankly alarming amount of
information about everybody.
Angela Lansbury was nominated for the Emmy twelve times for this role and never won
once.
The show ran twelve seasons, and Jamie Lee Curtis is now bringing the character back.
Your flaw is that being told everything is only a gift if you know what to do with it.

You expect to be lied to and you are almost never disappointed.
Chandler wrote Marlowe as a man with a rigid private code in a city that has none, which is
why he takes the case, solves it, gets nothing out of it and takes the next one.

You are the most cynical person your friends know and the one they would call at four in
the morning.
Bogart played him in The Big Sleep in 1946 and the plot is famously impossible to
follow, which matters not at all.
Elliott Gould, Robert Mitchum and Liam Neeson have all taken the part, and every version
says something about its decade.
Your weakness is a code so strict that it mostly punishes the person holding it.

The Marshall family brings some much-appreciated comedic undertones to Safe. One minute, they’re cramming a body into a freezer; the next, they’re hiding in a bedroom of their affluent family home as the police search the outdoor pool. Nigel Lindsay (Midsomer Murders, Victoria) is endearing as family man JoJo, who will do anything to protect his family and his luxury lifestyle, while Laila Rouass (Spooks, Primeval) and Amy-Leigh Hickman (You, Our Girl) play a convincing mother-daughter duo who are far too accustomed to a life of privilege.

‘Safe’ Is Still the Best of Harlan Coben’s Netflix Miniseries

Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix

Image via Netflix

Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix

Image via Netflix

There are now 12 captivating Harlan Coben shows on Netflix in total, with more on the way, yet Safe continues to hold its spot as the best of Coben’s miniseries on the streamer to date. 2024’s Fool Me Once, for instance, is completely addictive viewing and just as bingeworthy, but it doesn’t have the big-name draw of Safe, while 2020’s The Stranger comes close to rivaling Coben’s first-ever Netflix series but becomes more of a fun and romp and less of a chilling drama. Safe’s thrilling ending waits until the very last minute to drop its final bombshell, and it’s an absolute corker. Ultimately, there are just too many fantastic Harlan Coben shows out there that deserve to be your next big watch, and while many come close, none are quite as good as his first-ever Netflix release.