The Stranger (2020) - Season 1

If you search online for more information about The Stranger, it won't take long to find that comparisons are being made with You. Both Netflix series are mysteries and evoke the same feelings while watching, but I don't quite agree with this comparison. The Stranger has more mature themes and has a clear-cut ending in contrast to You. However, there are similarities with the Netflix series Safe from 2018. This is not surprising as The Stranger was written by Harlan Coben, just like Safe. But enough talk about the background details and let's focus on the series itself.

Then suddenly Corinne disappears and Adam is left behind with not only questions about Corinne's secrets but also about his wife's whereabouts.

The Stranger revolves, surprisingly, around a stranger (Hannah John-Kamen, Killjoys) who, together with her partner in crime, (Lily Loveless, Skins) blackmails people by threatening to expose their deepest and darkest secrets. A lucrative enterprise, until the Price family become their next victims. It turns out that mum Corinne Price (Dervla Kirwan, Injustice) has been hiding secrets and the story takes off when her husband Adam (Richard Armitage, North & South) is informed about this by the stranger. He, of course, confronts his wife, but she is unsure how to respond and asks for more time. Then suddenly Corinne disappears, and Adam is left behind with not only questions about Corinne's secrets but also about his wife's whereabouts.

What is good about this series is that it has more than one storyline. A lot is going on, so several characters play an essential role. The plot had quite a few surprises in store. Often writers make use of clichés, but I think that wasn't the case with The Stranger. Still, sometimes the circumstances people end up in were a bit too dramatic. It's not always quite realistic, but in my opinion, that is not necessary in this genre. After all, the purpose of a mystery is being transported into the fictional life of someone else, despite the absurdity of it. And the creators definitely succeeded in this.

The children of the main characters are also trying to keep secrets. Thomas Price (Jacob Dudman), Daisy Hoy (Ella-Rae Smith) and Mike Tripp (Brandon Fellows) were at a party in the woods in the middle of the night. Afterwards, it turns out that several crimes were committed that night and the police are called in. Desperately, the three kids are trying to keep what happened that night a secret, but the big question is: will they succeed?

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Slowly but surely, the whole community gets involved in the search for Corinne. For example, the Price's neighbour Doug Tripp (Shaun Dooley, The Game) helps his friend Adam in his quest for answers and Corinne's colleague Vicky Hoy (Jade Harrison) regularly takes care of the Price children. Despite the mystery of his wife's disappearance, Adam Price still has to keep his law practice going. He represents former police detective Martin Killane (Stephen Rea, The Honourable Woman) who is trying to stop the demolition of his house. The fight with the property developer who wants to tear down his neighbourhood gets quite ugly at times. As a return favour, Killane helps Adam trying to find Corinne.

For me, The Stranger was another great Netflix show which contained the right mix of drama and mystery.

The police are also kept busy. Lead detective Johanna Griffin tries to avoid her problems by delving into this case and together with her partner Wesley Ross (Kadiff Kirwan) she tries to find the answers to this case and all the other new cases that come up. One of their fellow detectives on these cases, Katz (Paul Kaye, Game of Thrones) also has to deal with some personal problems.



For me, The Stranger was another great Netflix show which contained the right mix of drama and mystery. After watching all the episodes, I found little fault with the acting. Although some questions remain unanswered, the story was wrapped up nicely. The story was nothing special; I don't think I will remember this series in five years, despite the okay quality. Yet, I will recommend this series to those friends and members of my family who like the mystery genre, because with only eight episodes, it's easy to binge-watch. In short, despite it being a not that original story, The Stranger did appeal to me.