The first time most of the nation will be there Miss youthe latest in an ever-growing list of Harlan Coben novels adapted into Netflix series, They’ll Do Under Bed Sheets Strewn With Hangover-Satisfying Snack Wrappers.

It will be released on New Year’s Day (January 1st) and like last year Fool me oncethe twisty, five-part thriller will almost certainly become daily binge-watching for anyone whose brain needs an anesthetic.

Actress Mary Malone was first seen in a full episode of the miniseries in a fancy hotel basement theater in November. She remembers previously seeing a clip of her character Aqua in action for the first time – “I was like, ‘Oh my God, who is that?'” Because that’s how I would feel if I saw a trans person in one Harlan Coben series” – but watching episode one in its entirety was a moment of self-realization.

“Looking at it now, I was really able to see myself as a part of it and not just this box-ticking person. So yeah, I think it’s starting to become clear that it’s a big deal for me and my career.”

In Miss youDetective Kat Donovan (Slow horses Star Rosalind Eleazar) discovers her former fiancé Josh (Great boyis Ashley Walters) on a dating app, even though he disappeared without a trace 11 years earlier after the murder of her detective father (Lenny Henry).

Kat wants answers – who really killed her father and why; Where has Josh been for the last decade – but in the end there are more questions than conclusions. At work, under the dogged guidance of her boss Ellis Stagger (Richard Armitage, a loyal Harlan Coben associate), she becomes embroiled in a strange series of missing person cases in her Manchester town. It’s typical Coben: soapy melodrama and glossy action, cliffhangers and coincidence.

Malone, who was previously best known for a small role in Doctor Who and a stunning lead role as Jules in the cult musical Fangirlsis Aqua, a yoga teacher and Kat’s closest friend.

“She’s an astrology girl through and through. She’s a twin witch queen,” smiles Malone, making himself comfortable in the hotel restaurant after the performance. He wears a white ruffled shirt, a gray skirt and knee-high socks. The relationship between Aqua and Kat has “the energy of a mother and daughter, but also switches frequently between the two,” Malone explains. “Aqua really always bounced back and got through the toughest times.”

So can we expect Aqua to be involved in the series’ most exciting revelations? Malone tries to answer without spoilers with the poise of a laser-dodging leading man in a heist movie. “Like all real friendships, there are difficult times, and because they’re almost like a family, that’s not all… it’s not like things get complicated,” she laughs.

Since it’s an adaptation of Coben, viewers will expect Aqua to be in on the biggest thrills, I suggest. “She is intertwined in the complex spider web Miss you. She is involved. She is not this transgender character. She is an essential part of the narrative. “I don’t know if I can talk about stunts,” she says cautiously.

“You could tell you went for it,” a show PR person sitting with us says gently.

Malone slaps his knees in joy. “I got to do some stunts, which is really exciting, really fun, something I’ve never done before and I really enjoyed it,” she says breathlessly. The trailer for the series arrives weeks after our conversation and shows Aqua crying, wielding a knife and revealing that she’s more involved in Josh’s cobwebby backstory than her friend Kat realizes.

Miss you The novel was published in early 2014, at the beginning of a wave of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. Laverne Cox had just arrived Orange is the new blackand fully realized transgender characters were almost non-existent on television, in film, and of course in books. Aqua appears in Coben’s novel but is considered Kat’s “transvestite” friend, a person who seemingly does not know whether he is trans, gay, or crossdresser, although this is likely due to Coben’s own misunderstanding of the LGBTQ+ community at the time of writing. After the screening, the author admitted that Malone had brought Aqua to life in a way that couldn’t be replicated in his original pages.

“I guess what Harlan means is that he wrote about a trans character a few years ago, and if I gave that voice to a trans woman today, I think I contributed to that and succeeded , really grounding her in a “real-life trans person,” says Malone, agreeing that the character “has changed a lot from the book.”

She has a “rich complexity,” adds Malone, where “she’s not all good and she’s not all bad, and I think she’s a real human being with a lot going on, which is a real joy to play.” “.

Although it wasn’t clear at first, Malone soon learned that Netflix was specifically looking for a trans actress to play Aqua as a trans woman. It was “really nice because that means it was for us too. We have to have that,” she says. On set, she received tailored support from Trans+ On Screen, an initiative that supports trans people in all areas of television and film. They answered questions from Miss yous executives talked about authentic trans representation so Malone didn’t have to, and helped boost her confidence.

“I really think it was a deciding factor in me feeling comfortable there. I think obviously I got the role for a reason, I had what they were looking for, but it’s really hard to convince myself of that. When there’s someone else there and you’re paying attention and you see someone like you, I can let go of that fear and give what I have to give,” Malone says. “I just always felt safe.”

The Miss you The cast and crew also contributed significantly to their sense of belonging. Armitage, who is queer himself, recently praised Malone, calling her performance a “revelation.” “Richard is just so, so totally sweet and approachable and lovely, and talked to me a lot. So I’m really grateful for him,” she shares.

“Working with Ros (Eleazar) was really special. She is such a generous actress and we talked a lot and wrote a lot. And you know, every hard day on set, she was really there for me, texting late into the night. She would be there to calm me down,” Malone adds. She didn’t exactly miss out on her first regular role in the series and started straight away with a major Coben adaptation on Netflix. She felt “the pressure, but it’s also the hours, and it’s… you know, it’s hard work,” she laughs again.

“Sometimes it gets on my nerves, but most of the time I would say it’s just nerves and the idea of ​​yourself. I feel like confidence is a crucial factor in acting, and sometimes you have all the talent inside you, but if you’re too scared to be there, it’s really hard to blossom and thrive.”

“Thriving” is exactly the word to describe Malone’s career right now, despite her nervousness. Coban’s will open in early 2024 Fool me once was so big that it ended up plastered on billboards in New York’s Times Square and became the most-watched Netflix show in the first half of the year, with more than 100 million views. Miss you will probably be a similar success.

In addition to imposter syndrome, Malone has previously spoken about being a victim of the online anti-trans bigotry that follows her Doctor Who Look. Given this, she is prepared for increased abuse and backlash Miss youHowever, the potential scale is more aligned with the opportunities it could bring to the wider trans community.

“Everyone was watching fool Me OnceYou know? “Everyone loves Harlan Coben, and I just think this can have a really wide reach,” says the actress. “I think it’s an opportunity to reach people who may have never met someone like me. The narrative really isn’t about their gender identity, so I think that’s a great representation and an accurate representation of us actually just living our lives.”

There’s also the shine it will undoubtedly add to her acting resume. “After I do it, I hope everyone can see this and that as if I have that,” she beams. “You know, maybe I could be trusted to play bigger roles and I could be allowed to… maybe play cisgender roles. Maybe more clues. I really hope it can be something that people can look at and think like Mary did that.”

Miss you is now streaming on Netflix.

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