Netflix’s 8-Part Psychological Thriller Is One Of Its Best & A Perfect Weekend Binge

Netflix‘s 8-part psychological thriller series is one of the streamer’s best and is a perfect weekend binge you can finish in just a few sittings. Released in 2020, this original Netflix thriller still holds up and is worth watching six years after its worldwide premiere. With elements of psychological drama, suspenseful mystery, and gripping crime thriller, this series offers the total package for a Netflix show that’s actually worth your time.

One of the biggest draws to this 8-part crime thriller on Netflix is one of its leading actors, Richard Armitage, who is best known for playing Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit movie franchise. Armitage plays Adam Price, a seemingly average suburban husband and father living an idyllic life, whose world is flipped upside down once a total stranger approaches him, threatening to expose his deepest and darkest secret. This intriguing premise, combined with Armitage’s star power, is one of the reasons why The Stranger is still a must-watch show on Netflix.

Netflix’s 8-Part Psychological Thriller Is One Of Its Best Shows

The Stranger remains one of the best shows on Netflix six years later, especially for viewers looking for an immersive and thrilling miniseries to binge-watch. Based on the bestselling novel by Harlan Coben, who has authored several crime and mystery books that have also been developed into Netflix series such as Safe and Run Away, The Stranger is often considered among the very best of Coben’s Netflix adaptations.

While Armitage is one of the biggest draws in The Stranger, the true star of the series is the titular protagonist, played by Hannah John-Kamen (Ready Player One, Thunderbolts*). Kamen delivers a tour de force performance as a mysterious woman introduced as The Stranger, who approaches Armitage’s character, Adam Price, at a bar, revealing a world-shattering secret about Adam’s wife, Corrine (Dervla Kirwan).

After The Stranger claims that Corrine faked her pregnancy years before, Adam confronts his wife about it, only for her to disappear soon after. Corrine only leaves behind one cryptic text before her disappearance: “Don’t try to find us. Just look after the boys.” Corrine’s disappearance is only the first step in a chaotic domino effect that ensues shortly after, as Adam tries to get to the bottom of this mystery while also suspecting that The Stranger may not be as genuine as she appears to be.

The Stranger Is Perfect For A Quick Weekend Binge On Netflix

The Stranger, not to be confused with the 2022 Netflix crime thriller movie starring Sean Harris and Joel Edgerton, earned a strong Rotten Tomatoes score of 87% following its January 2020 debut. With a total runtime of roughly 6 hours and 30 minutes, it’s an ideal choice for a weekend binge, best split up over the course of two or three sittings. That said, once you start watching The Stranger, you may find it difficult to stop, due to the increasingly shocking nature of the plot as it unfolds.

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Netflix’s 6-Part Crime Thriller With Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score Is One Of Its Best

This 6-part crime thriller series on Netflix earned a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, making it one of the best shows to watch on the streamer.

The Stranger has been praised for its engaging story, strong performances, and its easy-to-binge format. While some viewers would argue that the series is overly dramatic and far-fetched, others would attest that it is entertaining throughout and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end. As one CBR critic confirms, this show is perfect for fans of Coben’s other Netflix series, “Anyone who binged The Five or Safe is likely to do the same with The Stranger, which delivers the same sort of empty-calorie thrills.”

All things considered, few Netflix original series are as built for a weekend binge as The Stranger is, and there are plenty of reasons why the critically acclaimed 8-part thriller is still worth checking out six years after it was released, even if it’s for a re-watch.