The gripping new Netflix thriller Run Away, adapted from Harlan Coben's best-selling novel, launched on New Year's Day, instantly becoming a must-watch for 2026. While the book is set in New York, the television adaptation relocates the tense drama to the north west of England, offering a feast of familiar local scenery for viewers.
From Page to Screen: A Northern Transformation
This marks the latest successful collaboration between Netflix and Manchester's Quay Street Productions to bring Coben's work to life. The story follows devoted father Simon Greene, played by James Nesbitt, on a desperate mission to find his runaway daughter Paige, portrayed by Ellie de Lange. His wife, paediatric surgeon Ingrid Greene, is played by Minnie Driver.
Series producer Guy Hescott explained the scale of the project, stating they aimed to create a "massive world" to reflect the daunting search. The eight-episode series is packed with movement, featuring four distinct narrative strands that see characters constantly on the move across the region.
Key Filming Locations Across the North West
The drama makes immediate use of Greater Manchester, with the pivotal opening scene where Simon first spots his daughter filmed at Alexandra Park in Oldham. Producer Guy Hescott revealed this was an ambitious shoot, involving 200 extras, cranes, and drones to fill the space. In a distinctly Mancunian twist, Paige performs Elbow's anthem One Day Like This by the fountain, after securing Beatles rights proved too costly.
The Greene family's luxurious home, reflecting Simon's finance career, is an Edwardian manor in Altrincham, though interior kitchen scenes were shot in a house in Alderley Edge. The impressive university building shown as "Lanford University" is actually the former St Katharine's College in Liverpool, now part of Hope University, while interiors were filmed across various universities in Manchester and Liverpool.
City Centres, Estates and a Cult Mansion
Manchester city centre features prominently, with Deansgate Towers dominating skyline shots and office scenes filmed in Spinningfields. The Northern Quarter doubles for interior sets, including a constructed police station interior, while the striking facade of Manchester Crown Court stands in for the fictional Bank Street Police Station.
Some of the thriller's most chilling scenes unfold on the Marinduque estate, filmed on Hill Street in Dukinfield. The production team had to add graffiti and mess to the well-kept flats to create a "chaotic world." Later, a tense chase sequence takes place on The Underbanks in Stockport.
For the dramatic cult compound featured in the climax, production utilised the scenic Peak District, specifically the Thornbridge Hall Estate near Bakewell. Other notable locations include Tatton Park Farm in Cheshire, standing in for an animal park, and a remote pub on Saddleworth Moor for a frosty confrontation.
Liverpool's Starring Role
Liverpool also plays a major part. Sefton Park hosts pursuit sequences, while Café Minna on Lark Lane and the Northern Quarter's Evelyn's restaurant feature as key meeting spots. A gruesome tattoo parlour scene was shot in a real Liverpool parlour, and Faulkner Street is the setting for thrilling city centre chases.
Run Away is streaming now on Netflix, joining the streamer's successful slate of Harlan Coben adaptations and showcasing the dramatic potential of the North West's urban and rural landscapes.
