In “Missing,” Ashley Judd stars as Becca Winstone, an ex-CIA agent on the hunt for her son, but the spy thriller also features another very important main character – Europe. 

The new series, which premieres Thursday, March 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, was shot on location in such places as Rome, Paris, Prague and Istanbul, making the new TV show feel much more like a feature film.  

“When you’re watching green screen stuff, no matter how good it is, you still can see . . . an element of, ‘OK, I’m watching something that’s not necessarily real’ but when you’re actually in these locations, you’re interacting not only with the actors but also the scenery and the history (of the place),” said Nick Eversman, who plays kidnapped son Michael Winstone, in a recent conference call.

“For me it helps me as an actor and an artist to help me ground myself a little more.”

As well as Judd and Eversman, the series also stars Sean Bean as Paul Winstone, Tereza Voriskova as Oksana, Adriano Giannini as Giancarlo Rossi, Becca’s former flame and Interpol agent, and Cliff Curtis as Dax Miller, the head of CIA operations in Paris.

Curtis, who is tracking rogue ex-agent Becca while also trying to help her, agrees that the spectacular locales bring a whole other dimension to the show.

“For me it’s probably the cool factor because we have not only the same location but the same crew that they used on ‘The Bourne Identity,’ the James Bond franchise, ‘Mission Impossible’ . . . We actually had the same location scout so if you really know your stuff, you might recognize (some places),” says Curtis.

“For me it was a little bit of a culture shock,” adds Eversman. “I’ve spent very little time abroad so it was a little difficult being over there but at the same time it was one of those, ‘Wow, I’m getting paid for this’ type moments. You get to see all these beautiful, historical places . . . it was a blessing to be able to see all that.”   

But even with all the incredible European locations, what sets this action-packed series apart is the level of emotional intensity.

“You’re taking that very real love and bond between a mother and child and then you’re putting it into a genre context so that the emotional content rings true and that’s one of the tricky balances in the show,” says Curtis.

The show was shot in a different city for each of the 10 episodes and each location Becca visits to look for her son corresponds with something that happened in her former life as a CIA agent. 

“She’s revisiting her past, not only psychologically and emotionally but physically, she’s revisiting these places where things happened . . . She’s understanding more and more what happened and why this happened to her son and it’s bringing up all these things she thought she left a long time ago that have come back to haunt her,” says Curtis.

And though the show may look like a movie, the format of television allows for more in-depth exploration of the characters and their history, which according to Eversman, is the best of both worlds.

“It’s got all the action and then we’ve got the TV side, we have a little bit more time to tell the story, so I think it’s a great mix of the two,” says Eversman. 

About Sheri Block

Sheri Block has been covering entertainment for CTV.ca since 2008. In addition to covering Will and Kate’s Royal Wedding in London, Sheri’s highlights have included going on tour with “Canadian Idol,” being a stand-in on “Canada’s Next Top Model” and meeting Colin Farrell at the Toronto International Film Festival.Follow her on Twitter!