The Stolen Girldoesn’t waste any time grabbing your attention and keeping you enchanted under its crafty spell. The tense five-episode miniseries is on par with some of the best television thrillers of the last decade, and a sure-fire go-to for anybody who appreciated Kate Winslet’s slow-burning tale,Mare of Easttown,Netflix’sDear Child,or evenAlert: Missing Persons Unit.
The tale chronicles how one seemingly ordinary decision can turn a parent’s world completely upside down. Flight attendant Elisa Blix (Denise Gough ofAndorandThe Witcher 3in a standout performance) agrees to allow her nine-year-old daughter Lucia (Beatrice Campbell) to have an overnight playdate with her new best friend Josie (Robyn Betteridge). Josie’s mother, Rebecca (Holliday Grainger), is cordial and charming, and lives in a groovy modern home, and my, don’t the two young girls look adorable in fairy costumes. “If there is any problem, no matter what time, call me,” Elisa tells Rebecca before leaving the house. Rebecca smiles. “She’ll be fine.”
Actually, she won’t. In swift fashion, the story takes off. The following day, Elisa and dashing hubby Fred (Jim Sturgess ofMix Tape) are in panic mode when they don’t hear back from their daughter or Rebecca. A quick jaunt to Rebecca’s house invokes dread. “No one lives here,” says the cleaning woman who opens the door. It’s the first of many WTF moments Rebecca and Fred endure in this compelling and wonderfully crafted caper that hooks you in and thrills you every step of the way.
Intriguing Premise Meets Slick Storytelling
The Stolen Girl
A Europe-wide hunt ensues after a woman realizes her daughter has been kidnapped from a play date.
The Stolen Girlwas created by Catherine Moulton and Eva Husson from an adaptation of Alex Dahl’s novel,Playdate. Nicola Shindler ofHappy Valleyfame is the executive producer. It’s a solid adaptation from beginning to end, and audiences will appreciate its big twists, time jumps, and strong performances.
Early on in Episode 1, the Blixes are dragged through a media blitz and police procedures. Detective Inspector Shona Sinclair (Bronagh Waugh) provides empathy but also a more sobering look at who Rebecca may actually be. After all, why would this mother kidnap a child? There’s a backstory to that, and it’s best to discover it for yourself. The revelations fracture Elisa and lawyer hubby Fred’s seemingly tight bond. It’s around this point that Denise Gough begins to command the screen, delivering a powerhouse performance as a distraught mother and wife whose world has just imploded.
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“Somehow I always end up becoming the bad parent, don’t I?” Fred moans at one point when things become tense. Elisa sighs deeply. She’s had enough at this point, having already told the man: “I really want younotto have random phone sex with some random woman you met on the f***ing internet.” Things get all too real. Fortunately, the script never sours, and the creators stay committed to character development, backstory, and illuminating all the strengths, quirks, and flaws of its characters all around.
Perfect Pacing and Complicated Characters
“The people who took Lucia planned it meticulously,” Detective Inspector Sinclair tells the Blixes in one of the early episodes. “We have little to go on.” The audience, however, gets clued in. We learn more about Elisa and Fred, who have a young boy, Georgie, and stern glares of disapproval from Elisa’s mother. Flashbacks give us a look at where Lucia is — hidden in a trunk, for instance — but the miniseries does capture glimpses of certain things that occurred after Elisa left Rebecca’s house.
When Elisa finds a note that the kidnapper (or kidnappers) are demanding money for Lucia, the Blix’s are ready to hand over the cash, but investigators warn them of any hasty moves with the “ransom letter.” Meanwhile, look for Ambika Mod to make a dent here as Selma, an enthusiastic if not pushy reporter who wants to solve the case. It’s also refreshing that even with the frenzied pace of the miniseries, it still manages to take time to showcase the lives of these characters, making them more relatable and the story that much more believable.
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The Plot Thickens… And Thickens
With each passing episode, new details and big reveals emerge, most of them sending Elisa into a spiral. (Her backstory becomes a wild card, in fact.) Clearly, the “perfect” life she had been living was all a sham. Look for how well the creators effectively allow this all to unfold, step by step, thereby making every episode feel inventive and suspenseful.
As the story leads us to a Europe-wide manhunt for Lucia, these episodes turn into genuine nail-biters. Bottom line:The Stolen Girlstands out because it never dumbs down the plot. It’s smart, slick, taught, and thoroughly entertaining. Queue it up. This one’s a winner.The Stolen Girllaunches exclusively on July 31, 2025, on Disney+ worldwide.In the U.S., Freeform will roll out episodes weekly at 10:00 p.m. EST beginning July 23, 2025, and episodes will be available to stream the next day on Hulu.
