How Kat Donovan Is Different in Netflix Harlan Coben Series

Believe it or not, Rosalind Eleazar is used to playing wilder characters than Detective Kat Donovan in Netflix‘s Missing You.

But it didn’t stop the shoot from getting pretty intense.

The latest in the streamer’s slate of Harlan Coben adaptations, Missing You follows the story of Slow Horses star Eleazar as a detective specializing in Missing Persons.

Eleven years ago, her fiancé Josh (played by Ashley Walters), the love of her life, vanished without a trace. Now, swiping profiles on a dating app, she sees his face, and her world threatens to explode all over again. The experience forces her to dive back into the mystery surrounding the murder of her father (Lenny Henry) and uncover long-buried secrets from her past. Coben said on a London panel the show has “the most emotional ending that I’ve experienced,” adding that he “actually cried.”

With twists and turns at every possible point, the new show, adapted by Victoria Asare-Archer, is a ride for both its characters and viewers. The five-part series (which hit Netflix globally on Jan. 1) follows Fool Me Once, another adaptation of the author’s novels featuring Michelle Keegan which went on to become the streaming giant’s most-watched TV show of 2024 and its eighth most popular program of all time.

Now, it’s Eleazar’s turn. Alongside the British star is the dream team of Walters, Henry, Richard Armitage, Jessica Plummer, Matt Willis and James Nesbitt. Below, the actress has a spoiler-free conversation with The Hollywood Reporter about the universal appeal of Coben’s writing, setting the show in the U.K. and the reality of an unpredictable reception: “I don’t know what people will think. I’m so close to the project, It’s like removing a piece of your skin.”

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Well, this really is an emotional rollercoaster for Kat.

She doesn’t have much time to think or breathe, because she’s bombarded with revelation after revelation after revelation. In a normal world, you would ask her to take a break, go talk to someone about it, but that’s not going to happen in the Harlan Coben world! She’s resilient, she picks herself up, and she doesn’t stay in a place of pain for too long. She’s a survivor and she wants to get answers. She’s been through a lot of trauma and I think you always have to be very sensitive when you take on characters that have been through real life experiences.

How did you land the lead role in Missing You?

I was asked to audition for it in September of 2023, I think it was August or September. And they only had one episode available [to read] so I quickly read the book and I loved the book. I loved Kat in the book, I think she’s slightly different in the book to the series. I think she’s slightly more reserved in the book. The team wanted her to be more front-footed in the show. And then, I don’t know when I got the part — it would have been October — and then we shot in January.

Were you a fan of Harlan Coben before you were asked to audition?

I loved his books. I’d watched a couple of his series, and also the French film called Tell No One [2006]. I think that was actually my first introduction to him.

Did you watch Fool Me Once on Netflix?

Yeah. It’s just so bingeable, isn’t it? [Coben’s so] extraordinary with how he puts together twists and turns. When I first read, Missing You, when I read the end, I could not believe that that’s where the story was going. I was so sure it was something else. And I honestly don’t know who does that better than him, you know?

It’s perfect January TV material. Fool Me Once was the most-watched series on Netflix globally last year. Is that a daunting thought with the release of your series?

I think it’s more exciting than it is daunting, because if it has a following and people love the shows, if it’s word of mouth, and people watch it and go, “Yeah, let’s watch Missing You,” then that’s really exciting. But put it this way: it doesn’t surprise me that Fool Me Once was one of the most watched shows of all time on Netflix. I think it’s really clever how [Harlan] does it.

It’s also been really interesting to see how the writers have taken these U.S.-set stories and put them in the U.K. It changes things a little, don’t you think?

I do think it changes things. I mean, he’s made shows that are set in France. He was saying earlier that he’s got one coming up in Argentina — he’s got [projects] in about six different countries. And I thought, what is it about these shows that you could pick them up and put them anywhere? And I think he really does write in a universal way. Because when I read the book, I thought, “Okay, this is really, really different.” It’s not supposedly set anywhere, but we filmed in Manchester, [England]. And you go, how is this going to translate? But somehow they just always do and they work.

And these Coben novels aren’t for the faint-hearted…

Completely. It was a really intense shoot and particularly with this story. Harlan and I we were talking earlier and it really is about one person. It follows [Kat] very, very closely, whereas some of the other Harlan shows have had different subplots that are all interwoven. This is quite on the nose, on the head, to do with Kat’s personal journey. There’s so many events that take place in a short amount of time every day. There was a shock, a revelation, there was an event. But I love it. I prefer intensity to the opposite of intensity.

Is Harlan involved in the shoot or writing process?

He is involved. I could ask him whatever I wanted. I mainly spoke to [executive producer and series writer Victoria [Asare-Archer], who adapted the series, but he is involved. He’s also an executive producer, so he’s right in the thick of it with decision-making and [saying] what he wants and what he doesn’t want.

Is Kat very different to other characters you’ve played before?

I think she is. All of the characters that I’ve played are different. She’s a bit more, let’s say, “normal,” quote-unquote, than I’ve ever played before. I tend to play characters who are a bit more wild and extreme in their being, in their energy. So she’s probably about as close to normal or run-of-the-mill [compared to what] I’ve played, which, again, is interesting because I hadn’t really done that. In my earlier work I was playing a drug addict or, I don’t know. There’s loads of examples. This was slightly more straight down the line, which is another reason why I wanted to do it. I want every job that I do to feel different to me and challenge me. And I can’t think of anything worse than playing the same character over and over again. And you know, the chances are that after this show, I probably will be asked, ‘Do you want to hear [about] the detective role?’ [Laughs.] It’s sort of how things work in our industry.

And how do you think audiences will react to Missing You?

It’s hard to predict. I think I’m so close to the project that I even find it hard summing her up, or summing up the series, because it’s so close to me. It’s like removing a piece of your skin. Or if someone said, “Oh, what’s your personality?” I don’t know what my personality is. Like, ask my mum. So I don’t know what people will think of it. I hope that they will be entertained, and I hope they really go on Kat’s journey with her and feel for her.

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Missing You is now streaming on Netflix.