Kaley Cuoco stars in the new MGM+ limited series Vanished, where her character Alice faces intrigue after her boyfriend disappears on a train in France. In an interview, Cuoco contrasts the grounded Alice with her chaotic role in The Flight Attendant. The series premieres on February 1, amid reports of disappointing early reviews.
Kaley Cuoco's latest project, the MGM+ thriller Vanished, premieres on Sunday, February 1, at 9 p.m. in the U.S., Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Latin America, with weekly episodes leading to a February 22 finale. All four episodes will also drop on Prime Video on February 27 in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
In Vanished, Cuoco plays Alice, a competent professional whose planned trip to Paris turns nightmarish when her boyfriend, Tom, played by Sam Claflin, vanishes aboard a train to southern France. As Alice delves into the mystery, she uncovers secrets about Tom that shatter her perceptions.
Cuoco highlights the differences between Alice and her previous character, Cassie from The Flight Attendant. "Cassie, who is a disaster — a disaster that we love — [has her] own emotional problems, so she's not a reliable narrator," Cuoco explains. In contrast, "Alice is a lot more grounded and does have much more of her s—t together. She's a planner. She has a great career. She's got her head on her. She's super, super smart."
The limited four-episode format demands quick emotional pacing, with flashbacks essential to depict Alice and Tom's romance and her initial idealized view of him. "I think some shows... sometimes, we overuse flashbacks," Cuoco notes, "But in this specific project, it needed to happen — not only so audiences could see their romance develop over time, but also to show Alice's rose-colored glasses when it comes to Tom."
Cuoco draws from true crime inspirations, emphasizing realism: "I watch so much true crime and I know that the craziest things, the craziest situations, can be very real. What if that happened to you and then you're in a different country, you don't know anybody, and you don't speak the language? That is my worst nightmare come true."
Reflecting on her sitcom past, including The Big Bang Theory and 8 Simple Rules, Cuoco calls herself an "indoor cat" during those indoor shoots. Transitioning to location-based series like The Flight Attendant challenged her, especially missing live audience feedback: "The biggest f— up in my brain was when people were not clapping and laughing loudly. If I did something funny, I'm literally holding for laughs."
Ahead of release, Vanished has garnered largely negative reviews from critics, though specifics remain limited in early coverage.
