--- title: Review: HBO's 'Run' Brings Old Hollywood Glamor to 2020 description: Debuting on April 15, it's an energetic hybrid of rom-com and action thriller whose episodes move as swiftly as the vehicle that is its setting. canonical: https://time.com/5817555/run-hbo-review/ author: Judy Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-04-08T17:18:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T08:35:23.828Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Desperate for a New Phoebe Waller-Bridge Show? Try 'Run' og:description: Merritt Wever and Domhnall Gleeson play ex-lovers on a train in this romantic thriller from PWB collaborator Vicky Jones og:url: https://time.com/5817555/run-hbo-review/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd82e8e264802fd5/698a0c8c86f68e60446ee934/domhnall-gleeson-merritt-wever.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: domhnall-gleeson-merritt-wever og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Desperate for a New Phoebe Waller-Bridge Show? Try 'Run' twitter:description: Merritt Wever and Domhnall Gleeson play ex-lovers on a train in this romantic thriller from PWB collaborator Vicky Jones twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd82e8e264802fd5/698a0c8c86f68e60446ee934/domhnall-gleeson-merritt-wever.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Desperate for a New Phoebe Waller-Bridge Show? Try HBO's Romantic Thriller _Run_  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Apr 8, 2020 5:18 PM CUT  Domhnall Gleeson and Merritt Wever in 'Run' Domhnall Gleeson and Merritt Wever in 'Run'Ken Woroner/HBO  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Apr 8, 2020 5:18 PM CUT Ruby is in the midst of the most boring day a person could possibly have in pre-quarantine America—sitting in a Target parking lot, sulking in the wake of a passive-aggressive phone call with her husband about skipping yoga so she can sign for a delivery—when her life suddenly changes. A text message pops up from someone named Billy: “RUN.” Fingers quivering, she replies: “RUN.” The same day, after hopping a plane to New York, she catches a cross-country train from Grand Central Station, where a roguish-looking redhead joins her. It’s all so exhilarating to watch that you can easily forget that the commuter hub doesn’t even have cross-country trains. Such is the magic of HBO’s _Run_, debuting on Sunday, April 15, an energetic hybrid of rom-com and action thriller whose half-hour episodes move as swiftly as the vehicle that is their primary setting. Created by actor, director and writer Vicky Jones, with best friend and longtime collaborator [Phoebe Waller-Bridge](https://time.com/collection-post/4684892/phoebe-waller-bridge-next-generation-leaders/ "undefined") as an executive producer, the show shares an emotional palette with [_Killing Eve_](https://time.com/5564684/killing-eve-season-2-review/ "undefined")(which returns to BBC America for an unnecessary but fun third season on April 12) and [_Fleabag_](https://time.com/5590251/fleabag-season-2-review/ "undefined") (Jones directed the stage production, a taped version of which will be available to rent on Amazon beginning April 10, with proceeds benefiting coronavirus charities). Its primary colors are frustration, regret and desire. This is where you’d normally get some backstory surrounding Ruby (Merritt Wever, on a roll after [_Unbelievable_](https://time.com/5667707/unbelievable-netflix-review/ "undefined")) and her traveling companion Billy ([Domhnall Gleeson](https://time.com/4974228/domhnall-gleeson-goodbye-christopher-robin/ "undefined") at his most charming), but the show only works so well because the characters initially are as mysterious to viewers as they are to each other. We know they’re old college flames, though not whether their motives now are romantic. It’s also clear they’ve been out of touch for years and that “RUN” is their secret signal to drop everything and embark on this adventure. Hints as to what each is running from and what they’re hiding from one another trickle out via smartphones, breathless confessions and colorful secondary characters played by [_The Good Wife_ standout Archie Panjabi](https://time.com/3853582/archie-panjabi-good-wife-exit/ "undefined") and guest star Waller-Bridge. Though it takes place in the present, _Run_ has tantalizing overtones of Old Hollywood. An anxious, screwball chemistry flickers between the leads; the train backdrop recalls classics like _North by Northwest_ and the [original _Murder on the Orient Express_](https://entertainment.time.com/2010/11/11/top-10-train-movies/slide/murder-on-the-orient-express/ "undefined"). Yet the engine of this story, propelling it endlessly forward, is something much less glamorous: the pathos of two regular-seeming people with the audacity to blow up their own lives. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5817555/run-hbo-review/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5817555/run-hbo-review/"},"headline":"Desperate for a New Phoebe Waller-Bridge Show? 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