5 Harlan Coben adaptations we'd love to see on Netflix
The Harlan Coben collection on Netflix is expanding more and more, and we're always excited to check out every new adaptation. Coben's most recent novel to be adapted into a Netflix series was the mystery-thriller Fool Me Once. As soon as it was released on the streamer in January 2024, it quickly shot up Netflix's top 10 TV shows list. In fact, it's still ranking on the list even now (Feb. 14).
After watching the gripping eight-episode series in its entirety, we begin to wonder which of Harlan Coben's novels will be adapted next. If you didn't know, Coben signed a five-year overall deal with Netflix back in 2018, where 14 of his books would be adapted into TV series. We've already seen some of them come out including Fool Me Once. Due to the major success of this series, Netflix decided to extend its deal with Coben in 2024, with two new television adaptations announced to be in the works.
Coben's thriller novels Missing You and Run Away were announced as the next books to be adapted into limited series on Netflix. Production on Missing You will start in the UK in spring 2024. It's unknown when work on the Run Away television adaptation will begin. Other Harlan Coben adaptations confirmed to be in the works at Netflix are a Myron Bolitar television series, a movie/TV adaptation of Coben's 2021 thriller novel Win, and a movie adaptation of Coben's standalone book Six Years.
We're looking forward to watching all of these new shows when they come out, but there are still several of Coben's books that we're hoping will be announced to be adapted next. We shared our top picks below!
1. Tell No One (2001)
Married couple David and Elizabeth Beck were happily in love and celebrating the anniversary of their first kiss at a lake when Elizabeth is kidnapped and later killed. Although the suspect is eventually caught, David still can't get over the loss. Eight years pass, and one day, David receives a shocking message from a mysterious person. It's a phrase only he and his dead wife would know. He also finds out that two unidentified bodies have been discovered at the same lake where Elizabeth was kidnapped. With the hope that Elizabeth might still be alive, David embarks on a journey to find the mysterious person who's been leaving him emails.
2. Caught (2010)
When 17-year-old Haley McWaid goes missing, her doting parents and their community assume the worst. Meanwhile, a reporter by the name of Wendy Tynes works to bring down sexual predators. When Wendy encounters her latest target, social worker Dan Mercer, she realizes that he's tied to the disappearance of Haley.
3. Play Dead (1990)
Supermodel Laura Ayers and Celtics basketball star David Baskin had just recently got married when tragedy strikes. While spending their honeymoon in the tropics, David goes missing while swimming and is later declared dead by drowning. Now widowed and bereaved, Laura is determined to find out the truth about her husband's death. But as she continues to investigate, she finds her own life in danger.
4. Don't Let Go (2017)
The story follows New Jersey Detective Napoleon “Nap” Dumas, who is still not over the death of his twin brother Leo and the disappearance of his former girlfriend Maura fifteen years ago. Since Leo's passing and Maura's disappearance, Nap has been searching relentlessly for Maura as well as trying to find out the real reason behind Leo's death.
He finally gets some answers when Maura's fingerprints are found in the rental car of a suspected murderer. But as he starts to learn more about everything, he comes to realize that the truth can be painful.
5. I Will Find You (2023)
I Will Find You follows an innocent father named David Burroughs, who is serving a life sentence in prison for the murder of his own son. Although he didn't do it, he accepts his fate anyway. But when his former sister-in-law arrives with a recent photograph of a boy she believes to be David's son, David becomes determined to break out of prison to find out the truth.
What Harlan Coben adaptations would you like to see next on Netflix?