A new Harlan Coben thriller is on Netflix - and you'll spot a Liverpool landmark

A new Harlan Coben thriller is coming to Netflix from New Year’s Day and viewers will be able to spot a famous Liverpool landmark.

Adaptations of the writer’s best-selling novels have been some of the most successful limited series ever on Netflix over the past six years.

Fool Me Once starring Michelle Keegan, which landed on January 1 2024, was the most-watched in more than 60 countries.

So this latest mystery, Missing You, is a must-see for fans to kick off the New Year and, as with previous shows, it was filmed mostly in the North West.

One of the locations chosen by Quay Street Productions for filming in February this year will be easily recognisable to Scousers.

The Victorian bandstand in Sefton Park, said to be the inspiration for The Beatles’ song Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, features in the series along with shots of the park itself.

A spokesperson for the production said the locations had been chosen because of its likeness to Central Park in Manhattan. The novel on which the TV version is based is actually set in New York City, but the dramatisation shifts the action to the UK.

“Sefton Park was used as the location for the yoga/bandstand scenes and generally the main park for the fictional city,” they explained.

“Sefton Park works as almost a Central Park-like location in relation to our world—a large park in the middle of the city.”

Missing You, which has five hour-long episodes, features an all-star cast including Rosalind Eleazar (Slow Horses), Ashley Walters (Top Boy), Richard Armitage, Sir Lenny Henry, Steve Pemberton and Marc Warren.

The story, which has all the trademark Harlan Coben twists and turns, centres around Detective Kat Donovan, played by Rosalind Eleazar, whose fiancé Josh disappeared 11 years earlier.

She hasn’t heard from him since until, swiping profiles on a dating app, she sees his face, and her life is thrown into turmoil again. His reappearance catapults her back into the mystery surrounding her father’s murder and results in her uncovering secrets from her past.

Scenes were shot in the city in collaboration with Liverpool Film Office which has had another incredibly busy year helping to bring TV and film productions here.

Kevin Bell from Liverpool Film Office said: “Liverpool City Region has an abundance of unique and inspiring locations that can not only tell any tale but make a production stand out.

“Sefton Park’s bandstand is a beautiful example of this. How many times have you walked through Sefton Park and took a moment to look at the bandstand? It’s an iconic feature of the park and it’s no wonder the locations team on Missing You chose it.

“Missing You was just one of many projects that chose our region as a backdrop to shoot their stories for the screen but this wouldn’t be possible if not for all our partners who work with us to make filming such as this happen.

“We look forward to welcoming many more productions next year!”