Netflix kicked off its 2024 with a bang, at least in terms of quantity of viewers if not the quality of the product, as Fool Me Once kicked up a storm on the streaming charts this January.
The latest adaptation of one of Harlan Coben’s best-selling thriller novels to hit the platform, Fool Me Once is perhaps the most successful to date as its twisty-turny narrative gripped viewers worldwide, no matter how far-fetched and underdeveloped its insane ending may have been (your mileage may vary). Unfortunately not every screen version of the author’s work can say the same. In fact, the Coben adaptation immediately preceding Fool Me Once was swiftly cancelled virtually as soon as it premiered. Namely, Harlan Coben’s Shelter, found on Prime Video rather than Netflix.
If you’ve burned through Netflix’s cadre of Coben shows and movies, maybe you’re tempted to give this one a go? Well, sure, it’s a free country (although streaming services aren’t), but here’s what you might want to know first.
Amazon’s attempt to capitalize on Coben-Mania didn’t take off with Shelter
If it didn’t have his name in the title, you’d be forgiven for completely missing the fact that Shelter is based on a Coben book as this is a YA mystery series rather than an adult-oriented thriller — it’s derived from one of the author’s rare young adult works. On paper, Amazon’s decision to adapt it made sense. Those of an older demographic love Coben’s work. Why not attempt to hook the younger demo too? Unfortunately, the attempt didn’t come off. Premiering its 8-part season on Aug. 18, 2023 and concluding on Sep. 22, less than two months later Prime Video pulled the plug on the show.
At first glance, this seems like another acclaimed series killed off too soon in the ever-cutthroat world of streaming. On Rotten Tomatoes, Shelter sports an impressive 88% tomatometer, a vast improvement on Fool Me Once‘s mere 67%. However, when you dig deeper into what critics have to say about the show then it becomes clear that, at least for some, it’s one of those so-bad-it’s-good kind of dealies.
“Instead of the pulse-pounding chiller it promises viewers, Harlan Coben’s Shelter works like a frustrating thousand-piece puzzle, with chunks and threads of the narrative only clicking together in the last moment,” decreed Variety. Meanwhile, Evening Standard summed it thusly: “Shelter’s best claim to originality might be not that it is something you have never seen before — but rather that it is everything you have seen before.”
Den of Geek may have said it best, though, with the critique: “Very serious themes meet Scooby-Doo mystery-solving in this bewilderingly poor taste teen thriller that’s entertaining, but not always for the right reasons.”
Of course, if you’re the sort of person who likes to make your own mind up about things, then Harlan Coben’s Shelter is all yours to binge on Prime Video. The series follows teen Mickey Bolitar (Jaden Michael) as he moves to Kasselton, New Jersey, and quickly becomes entangled in the mysterious disappearance of a student at his school, which exposes him to the dark underworld of this quiet suburban community. Just don’t expect the rest of the Mickey Bolitar book trilogy to be adapted anytime soon.
