Safe (TV Series)

''Safe'' is a British television drama series created by crime author Harlan Coben and written primarily by screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst. Set in England, the series is a production by Canal+, with C8 airing the show in France, and Netflix streaming the show internationally outside France. The series began filming in Manchester, Liverpool, and Cheshire in July 2017. It consists of eight episodes that premiered in 190 countries on 10 May 2018.

Plot

''Safe'' focuses on Briton Tom Delaney (Hall), a pediatric surgeon and widowed father of two teenage daughters. He is struggling to connect with his daughters as they still grieve the loss of his wife from cancer one year prior. After his 16-year-old daughter Jenny goes missing, Tom uncovers a web of secrets as he frantically searches for her.

Cast and characters

* Michael C. Hall as Tom Delaney, widower of wife Rachel, surgeon
* Amanda Abbington as Sophie Mason, Detective Sergeant partnered to Emma, Tom's girlfriend and neighbour
* Amy James-Kelly as Jenny Delaney, 16, Tom's elder daughter, girlfriend to Chris
* Isabelle Allen as Carrie Delaney, Tom's younger daughter
* Marc Warren as Pete Mayfield, Tom's best friend and fellow doctor
* Hannah Arterton as Emma Castle, Detective Constable relocated from the big city
* Emmett J. Scanlan as Josh Mason, Sophie's ex-husband who lives in a trailer-camper parked in her driveway
*India Fowler as Ellen Mason, Sophie's daughter
* Louis Greatorex as Henry Mason, Sophie's teenage son
* Freddie Thorp as Chris Chahal, Zoé and Neil's son, and Jenny's 19-year-old boyfriend
* Audrey Fleurot as Zoé Chahal, mother of Chris, French teacher accused of impropriety
* Joplin Sibtain as Neil Chahal, Zoé's husband
*Imogen Gurney as Tilly Chahal, Zoé and Neil's daughter
* Amy-Leigh Hickman as Sia Marshall, Jenny's drug-dealing classmate
* Nigel Lindsay as Jojo Marshall, Sia's father
* Laila Rouass as Lauren Marshall, Sia's mother
* Milo Twomey as Archie "Bobby" Roberts, owner of a 1980s-themed bar called Heaven
* Hero Fiennes Tiffin as Ioan Fuller, a teenager who may know something about Jenny's disappearance
* Karen Bryson as Helen Crowthorne, next-door neighbour to the Delaney family

Episodes

Critical response

''Safe'' has received positive reviews. It has a 71% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 24 reviews. While British newspapers ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Guardian'' found Hall's "odd" English accent to be a metaphor of overall peculiarities with the series, they both found many elements of the show to be entertaining. Ed Power wrote in ''The Daily Telegraph'' that Harlan Coben "makes every one of his characters feel plausibly sinister and throws in plenty of skilfully crafted cliff-hangers. Netflix's latest can be hackneyed and is written to formula, but the central mystery is assembled with a watchmaker's eye and the entire fandango whirrs by with ruthless efficiency." ''The Guardian''s Sam Wollaston wrote, "What looked at one point like it might be Netflix's ''Broadchurch'' – the disappearance of a teenager, a parent's anguish, the effect on a community, the police investigation – soon starts to look more like ''Desperate Housewives''. I'm very much enjoying these people, without really caring about them."

Maureen Ryan of '' Variety'' praised the series, writing, "It's a highly watchable, semi-pulpy serial loaded with reveals, clues and cliffhangers, and the core cast is generally quite good." Ben Travers of ''IndieWire'' found the series entertaining and graded it a B, writing, "''Safe'' leans into most of its increasingly preposterous moments, including Hall's accent. It's not that the show or its star’s elocution are bad, per se; they just don’t overwork themselves trying to convince you of their grand importance. ''Safe'' is a soap, and it's a fun diversion as such."

Daniel Fienberg of ''The Hollywood Reporter'', who based his review on the first two episodes sent to critics, criticised Hall's accent and performance, the depiction of teens and other elements of the series as all off-tone. Fienberg wrote, "It could take watching the six additional episodes to know if there's a cliché-upending payoff or if ''Safe'' is just a muddle."

References

External links

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{{Netflix original ended series (2012–2018)

French-language Netflix original programming
English-language Netflix original programming
Canal+ original programming
2018 French television series debuts
2018 American television series debuts
2018 British television series debuts
2010s British crime drama television series
2010s British mystery television series
2018 French television series endings
2018 American television series endings
2018 British television series endings
British thriller television series
Crime thriller television series
Serial drama television series
Television series about dysfunctional families
Television series by Red Production Company
Television series by StudioCanal