As Fool Me Once captivates countless Netflix subscribers, you might be wondering: what next for Harlan Coben, the writer whose book the series is based on.
Coben is an ultra successful thriller writer, and a number of his novels have appeared on the NYT best-sellers list. Fool Me Once wasn’t his first book-to-screen adaptation either. In 2018, Coben and Netflix announced a five-year deal that would see 14 of Coben’s current and future works into shows and films, with Fool Me Once being the eighth.
The author has a long track record of being adapted. Non-Netflix, English language Harlan Coben pieces of content include The Five, a British mini-series from 2016, and Harlan Coben’s Shelter, which was produced by and appeared on Prime Video.
The other seven Coben adaptations on Netflix are Safe, Stay Close, The Stranger, The Innocent, The Woods, Hold Tight, and Gone for Good. This means that there are six more to come as part of his deal. We are aware of five of these, with the final bit of content in the Harlan Coben Collection (for now, anyway) yet to be revealed.
Here’s our overview of the 5 upcoming Harlan Coben projects currently in production or development, all of which are part of his Netflix deal.
Atrapados (Caught)
This mini-series looks like it will be produced in Spanish and possibly be set in Argentina. This isn’t the first time the location has been shifted from Coben’s book, with Fool Me Once moving from the States to England. Atrapados is based on Coben’s novel Caught, and also seems like it will be part of his Netflix deal. There’s no news on when it might be released, nor on actors who are attached to the project.
The book follows a reporter who specializes in catching sexual offenders in sting operations, a la Chris Hanson in To Catch a Predator. However, things get rough when she accidentally traps a social worker in one of her setups, and she begins to think not everything is what it seems…
As this will be set in a Hispanic country, we’re sure there will be more of a Latin flavor to ground the series in its location. So, while the general plot of the book will likely give us clues to how the show will play out, don’t be surprised if there are some changes. There is no confirmed release date yet.
Run Away
This mysterious book about a drug-addled runaway and an old mystery is set to be adapted into a miniseries. The novel was released after Coben’s deal with Netflix, so there’s every chance he wrote it with the inevitable small-screen adaptation in mind.
Run Away follows a father who lost his daughter to drugs and an abusive relationship. However, one day he spots her busking in Central Park. When she sees him she dashes off, but he gives chase, only to find himself in a criminal world he could have never imagined.
As the desperate parent tries to bring his daughter home, everything he thought about her life is proven to be wrong. Was her partner really abusive? And what dangerous, gang-filled universe has she fallen into? As the story unravels, it soon transpires that everyone, not just his daughter, is keeping secrets from him.
Six Years
The only bit of information about the upcoming adaptation of Six Years that we have confirms it will be a film, not a series. Again, there’s very little publicly known information about the cast or producers, or even if it will be set in the same place as the book.
The novel is just as mysterious as the production currently is. It follows Jake, a man who is still depressed by the fact that the love of his life, Natalie, married somebody else six years prior. He has spent the intervening time becoming a workaholic, and ignoring his desperate desire to contact her.
When he sees her husband’s obituary in the papers, he can’t stop himself from attending the funeral. However, when he gets there he sees that the grieving widow isn’t Natalie at all, but a completely different woman. Thus begins a search for the truth that leads him down several dead-ends. It transpires that nobody has seen Natalie in years, and Jake begins to believe the life he has made for himself is built on a massive lie.
Tell No One
Much of Coben’s work has been adapted into French-language content, including this 2001 novel which became a film starring Guillaume Canet and Kristen Scott Thomas. It was only his third standalone novel, but is one of the main reasons he became such a hit in the crime and mystery world, and allowed him to move on from his highly successful Myron Bolitar series. We really don’t know much about this production other than the fact it’s in development.
The story follows the young, relatively newlyweds David and Elizabeth. They take a romantic trip to a secluded lake to celebrate the anniversary of their first kiss, only for Elizabeth to be abducted and brutally murdered. The killer is caught and punished, but that doesn’t help David at all. The grieving widower can’t seem to get over the death, no matter how hard he tries.
Eight years later, authorities uncover two decaying bodies near the very same lake, bringing up old memories for David. Things only get more confusing when he receives an unsolicited email from a stranger that uses a special phrase that only he and Elizabeth knew. David, certain that something isn’t right, begins to investigate.
Long Lost
Again, we know very little about the upcoming adaptation of Long Lost, except for the fact it’s in development. It’s based on the ninth Myron Bolitar book, and follows the detective as he hears from an old flame who disappeared from his life. She weaves a tale of woe that includes the death of her daughter, ending with the bombshell that she’s a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband in Paris. At the end of the call, she asks Myron for his help, and he accepts.
However, things aren’t as straightforward as they seem. Myron unearths a piece of evidence that makes him think his former lover might have a lot more to her than he previously thought and, more importantly, her deceased child might still be alive. The pair tear through Paris, attempting to stay ahead of the police, dangerous criminals, and even Mossad.