Netflix has always been open in admitting its desire to launch a shared universe comparable to the MCU, Star Wars, or Harry Potter, and while the likes of Extraction and The Gray Man are well on the way to doing just that, the best example the platform has at its disposal largely flies under the radar, despite the consistent quality of the streamer’s Harlan Coben adaptations.
After Safe was released in May of 2018, the company acted fast to tie the author down to an exclusive development deal, which has so far yielded seven intensely atmospheric crime thrillers hailing from multiple different countries. Underlining the confidence the higher-ups have in his output, the contract was extended by another four years in October of 2022, with the eighth installment in the Coben franchise gearing up to begin production.
Fool Me Once will star Michelle Keegan in the lead role of a grieving wife trying to come to terms with the brutal murder of her husband. However, when she installs a camera system to watch over her young daughter, she catches a glimpse of her very much alive spouse inside the house, leading to a wide-ranging investigation that involves family, friends, and the authorities.
So far, the sprawling Coben saga has gifted subscribers with the United Kingdom’s The Stranger and Stay Close, Poland’s The Woods and Hold Tight, Spain’s The Innocent, and France’s Gone for Good to compliment the aforementioned Safe, and every single one of them is well worth checking out for fans of the twisting, turning, murder mystery crime thriller – of which we know there are many among Netflix’s customer base.
It’s ironic that the best saga the platform has to offer has gone so unnoticed a lot of people might not even know the shows all hail from the same mind, but more Coben is never going to be a bad thing based on what we’ve seen so far.