While you might already be across the brilliant new dramas landing on Netflix, did you know you can also keep an eye on the shows that are leaving the platform? And it looks like James Nesbitt's exceptional forgotten crime drama won't be around for long, so you'd better get streaming!
Here's everything you need to know about The Secret, from what it's about to who's in the cast and what the reviews said at the time.
What is The Secret about?
The Secret, which was originally produced for ITV, is an adaptation of a horrifying true story. Set in the Baptist community in Coleraine in Northern Ireland, the story follows a dentist-turned-killer called Colin Howell, who has an affair with school teacher Hazel Buchanan. Together, they carried out a horrific double murder and successfully hid the truth for 18 years, before their crimes came back to haunt them.
The Netflix description reads, "A dentist and a Sunday school teacher begin a torrid extramarital affair that leads them to make a murderous pact. Based on a true story."
Who's in The Secret cast?
As well as a brilliant performance from James Nesbitt as devout family man turned killer, the cast includes:
- Genevieve O'Reilly from Andor as Hazel Buchanan (later Hazel Stewart)
- Laura Pyper from Hex (2004) and Emma (2009) as Lesley Howell
- Glen Wallace from Hollyoaks as Trevor Buchanan
- Bafta-winning Jason Watkins as Pastor John Hansford
- Patrick O'Kane from Steal and The Day of the Jackal as Victor Buchanan
- Jonathan Harden as DC Devine
- David Pearse as Andy Comerford
- Ali White as Hilary McAuley
- Nina Woods as Lauren Howell
- Murray Speers as Daniel Howell
- Jack Erdis as Andrew Buchanan
- Sophie Mellotte as Lisa Buchanan
How many episodes of The Secret are there?
There are four episodes of The Secret available to stream on Netflix, and they are one-hour long each. The series will be available to stream on Netflix until 20th June, which is when it will leave the platform.
What did reviews of The Secret say at the time?
The Guardian described James Nesbitt as "utterly convincing in the role. It’s a brilliant, terrifying portrait of a man who is charming and clever, a pillar of the community (never trust those pillars) but also manipulative and controlling, and who thinks that the rules – of law and of God – simply don’t apply to him."
The Telegraph said "As Howell, Nesbitt (an actor far more versatile than casting directors sometimes give him credit for) offered a masterclass in the kind of overconfident, small-town charm that falls well short of charisma. He was credibly creepy from the start: his eyes catching Buchanan’s as he quoted the Bible. Here was a man who wielded piety like a personal weapon."
Den of Geek added, "His performance, as directed by The Awakening’s Nick Murphy, locates the thin space between self-serving evil and unhinged religious belief. Is the character cynically using his so-called piety to get what he wants, or does he truly believe he’s enacting the will of his Lord? Which, the drama asks, would be more unsettling?"
