James Nesbitt has more recently been seen across a number of Harlan Coben's twisty thrillers, but he's also no stranger to a crime drama – with an earlier role in The Missing, one of the best to have aired on the BBC, still sitting as the actor's highest-rated TV drama, according to critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.
First premiering on BBC One in 2014, The Missing's first season centred on the search for a young boy who went missing while on holiday with his family in France. Desperate for answers and convinced his son Oliver is still out there somewhere, Tony (Nesbitt) reaches out to reported detective Julien Baptiste (played by Tchéky Karyo), who was part of the original investigation.
Who else is in the cast for The Missing?
With Nesbitt and Karyo leading the first season of the drama, and driving the narrative of unwinding the mystery of what happened to Oliver, other actors included:
• Frances O'Connor as Oliver's mother, Emily Hughes
• Jason Flemyng as British detective Mark Walsh
• Ken Stott (Rebus)
• Arsher Ali (Line of Duty)
• Saïd Taghmaoui (Strike Back)
An anthology series, the second season was set in Germany and told the story of a girl called Alice, who had previously gone missing only to then come home over ten years later under mysterious circumstances.
When she claimed to have been held captive along with a French girl who had gone missing at around the same time as her, detective Julien Baptiste – who led that original investigation – once again wanted to get to the truth.
What to Read Next
The cast of The Missing season two featured a number of familiar faces, including:
• David Morrissey as Captain Sam Webster, Alice's father
• Keeley Hawes as Gemma Webster, Sam's wife and Alice's mother
• Abigail Hardingham as Alice
• Anastasia Hille (The Couple Next Door)
• Roger Allam (Endeavour)
• Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad)
The character of Tchéky Karyo's detective Julien Baptiste was so popular that he got his own spinoff series Baptiste, from the same show creators and writers Jack and Harry Williams.
What did the critics say about The Missing?
The BBC crime drama was widely well received at the time, by both critics and audiences alike. The series currently sits with an impressive 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and boasts a number of glowing reviews.
Globe and Mail wrote: "There is a depth of feeling to it that you connect with, if you have accrued life's experiences of loss, doubt and regret. It is also a bloody brilliant thriller."
"Trodding a timeworn path for television drama, The Missing is nonetheless exquisitely affecting and positively addictive," said Common Sense Media, while Vulture wrote: "For all of its almost scientific attention to the granular details of shifting emotion and point of view, The Missing also has an eye for beauty. This is one of the year's very best TV programs, hard as it sometimes is to endure."
How to watch The Missing in the UK
The Missing is still available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
If you liked The Missing, here are some other James Nesbitt dramas to stream now
In the more recent, BBC's Northern Ireland-set crime drama Bloodlands sees Nesbitt on the detective side of things, playing police officer DCI Tom Brannick.
Written by Chris Brandon and executive produced by Line of Duty boss Jed Mercurio, the series has a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse, and an infamous cold case that could be connected to a new discovery. Both seasons one and two of Bloodlands are available on BBC iPlayer.
Speaking of Line of Duty, Nesbitt was one of the many, many guest stars across the police procedural's six-season run – although he only appeared in one episode in the end. Even so, now might be a good time to revisit the hit show, as excitement continues to build for the brand-new seventh season.
Nesbitt is also a regular feature in Harlan Coben's TV adaptations, appearing in Netflix's Run Away – which dropped on the streaming platform earlier this year – as well as Missing You, and Stay Close.
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
