An 8-hour BBC miniseries from writers Harry & Jack Williams (2007’s “Roman’s Empire”), “The Missing” stars James Nesbitt (Bofur in the Hobbit movies) and Frances O’Connor (“Bedazzled,” “AI”) as the British parents of a 5-year-old boy who disappears during a family vacation in France.
... it’s very good, a swift-moving crime thriller …
... I liked it enough to want to know how it ends … but it's one of those shows that has elements that are tough to take, and I'd understand if some potential audience members gave it a miss. …
... imaginatively written, well cast, chillingly believable and quite addictive. …
... an anguished, performance-driven mystery that is both a return to the conventional definition of cable drama and an elevation of it. …
… one of those rare TV treats that occasionally pop up without much fanfare and do everything right ... seems to have a deep respect for its audience. Its red herrings are few and its emphasis on people and their feelings help elevate the series to another level. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... The performances are superb at every level, with each actor rising to the challenge of revealing previously unrealized aspects of his or her character. Fortunately, the cast is blessed with a beautifully nuanced script from the Williams brothers. …
... a reminder that familiar material can indeed yield extremely absorbing drama, that often the excellence of a series comes from the crispness of the script, the intelligence of the directing, and the intensity of the acting, and not necessarily the newness of the concept. …
... an excellent eight-part British mystery reminiscent of The Killing and Broadchurch in its brooding anguish. …
... when a show is this compelling — leaving even a jaded critic hungry for a sixth episode after screening five — it shouldn’t be missed. …
... engaging and haunting … the kind of series that should prove to Fox — and everybody else looking to make a cheap copy of something that already exists — that making something original is the way to go. … As the fall broadcast season goes down to a simmer, switch over to Starz and discover the next limited series you’ll need to watch.
9 p.m. Saturday. Starz.
