If Stephen King puts pen to paper – or finger to keyboard – and churns out a new story, there’s a 99 percent chance Hollywood studios and streaming services will be circling imminently in an attempt to secure the rights and add it to the never-ending pile of live-action adaptations.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that when the horror icon’s bibliography has been responsible for many of the greatest movies ever made spanning multiple genres and dating back almost half a century, but there’s also been more than a few stinkers along the way, some of them so terrible that King has washed his hands of them entirely and won’t even mention them by name.
Over the last few years, though, another writer has been gathering a reputation for rivaling King when it comes to the sheer volume of projects emerging based on their work, and that’s mystery maestro Harlan Coben. Since the beginning of 2020 alone, his back catalogue has been mined for seven Netflix shows and a Prime Video series, with the upcoming Fool Me Once having recently wrapped shooting.
Taking time out from his increasingly frequent ventures into the TV business, Coben showered praise on King’s latest novel Holly, and the praise was reciprocated as two masters of their respective specialty subjects shared the love.
At the current rate, Coben will be hot on King’s heels as the most frequently-adapted author out there, especially when Netflix recently renewed his development deal, but at least it’s reassuring to know they’re not in direct competition and happy to pat each other on the back.