Richard Armitage To Star In Netflix’s ‘The Stranger’ With ‘Safe’ Team

The Hobbit and Berlin Station star Richard Armitage is to front a crime drama for Netflix as the SVOD service reunites with the team behind crime drama Safe.

Armitage, whose Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz-directed feature The Lodge is at the Sundance Film Festival, is fronting The Stranger. The eight-episode series is based on Harlan Coben’s eponymous novel and is produced by Safe producer Red Production Company.

Armitage stars as Adam Price in the thriller, which sees a secret destroys his perfect life and sends him on a collision course with a deadly conspiracy. Price has a good life, two wonderful sons, and a watertight marriage, until one night a stranger sits next to him in a bar and tells him a devastating secret about his wife, Corinne. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corinne’s deception, and realizes that if he doesn’t make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he’s stumbled into will not only ruin lives—it will end them.

Coben will serve as an executive producer alongside Danny Brocklehurst, who will also serve as lead writer, Red’s Nicola Shindler and Richard Fee. Madonna Baptiste will serve as series producer. The series goes into production in March 2019.

Coben said, “The Stranger was one of my most challenging novels — and definitely the most twisted. When I wrote it, I never imagined that I’d be part of a dream team of extraordinary talent bringing it to life. I can’t wait to reunite with Danny, Nicola, and Netflix on this remarkable project.”

Shindler said, “I’m really excited to once again work with Harlan, Danny and Netflix on The Stranger. There is a real appetite for contained dramas, and Harlan is an absolute master of keeping the audience guessing and gripped to the edge of their seats with his incredible storytelling. The Stranger is another really intriguing premise, and with this amazing cast to bring these complex characters to life, audiences are in for a real treat.”

Armitage added, “I could barely contain my excitement reading Harlan Coben’s The Stranger; a nail biting thriller with a huge beating heart and a dash of social commentary for extra bite. I’m thrilled to be returning to work with Nicola Schindler and the brilliant creative team she has assembled.”

Larry Tanz, Vice President of Content Acquisition, Netflix said, “We’re proud to bring Harlan’s riveting rollercoaster of a novel to the screen with this expert team of storytellers. With Harlan, Danny and Red behind the camera and Richard in front of it, Netflix members around the world will be captivated by this gripping mystery.”