Just a year after she said goodbye to sitcom stardom with the final episode of The Big Bang Theory, Kaley Cuoco struck TV gold once again with The Flight Attendant. The HBO comedy drama started with her waking up next to a dead body following a one night stand, kickstarting a complex mystery for her to solve. Cuoco’s new show Vanished sees her on familiar ground as she makes a bid to become the small screen’s favourite sleuth.
Cuoco plays Alice, a globe-trotting archaeologist enjoying a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Tom (Sam Claflin), a charity worker who also travels for work. They meet in France to spend some time together but after their romantic train journey is briefly halted, Tom disappears, leaving Alice distraught. When she arrives in Marseille, she continues to search frantically for him but finds shocking truths about his background instead.
The comparisons to The Flight Attendant are difficult to ignore. Just like the first season of the HBO hit, we see Cuoco in a glamorous location, relying on her wits to keep herself out of trouble and find the truth in a rapidly changing situation. Vanished does tread a more serious, familiar path though. We have all the expected mystery archetypes on display, including a gruff French police inspector (Simon Abkarian) who waves away Alice as another tourist who got dumped. Her new allies all have a suspicious air about them and there are plenty of twists that, while not ludicrous, are extremely convenient. Those looking for the same mix of humour and character development from the Emmy-nominated series will find a much more hollow experience.
That’s not to say following Alice’s investigation isn’t fun. Cuoco is great at playing the role of an everywoman caught in extraordinary circumstances, and wades through the web of deceit with enough charisma to get you on her side. She makes a great team with Helene (Karin Viard), a no-nonsense journalist who takes a cynical view of Alice’s angst but forms a likeable odd couple as they team up to uncover the truth or, as Alice puts it, “play Cagney and Lacey in a French dive bar”.
There’s also something to be said for a show that doesn’t waste your time. At four episodes lasting around 40 minutes each, Vanished is eminently bingeable compared to your average Netflix contemporary. It also moves at a fast pace that doesn’t fill episodes with needless subplots. There’s not an enormous amount for Claflin to do, as the majority of his scenes are there to portray him as the perfect boyfriend who couldn’t possibly be mixed up in something dark, but he comes into his own as the big reveal emerges.
Vanished is unlikely to be your next streaming obsession in the same way The Flight Attendant was but if you’re pining for that similar rush of intrigue and suspense, you’ll easily disappear within this swift, enjoyable series.
‘Vanished’ is released February 27 on Amazon Prime Video