Harlan Coben's global Netflix smash could run for years

I’ll hold my hands up: I watched Netflix’s ‘I Will Find You’ before picking up Harlan Coben’s book. And yes, I’m usually the sort who crows about reading the novel first, so that’s ever-so-slightly mortifying. Still, the book’s just as much of a page-turner, so it feels a bit less like a crime against good taste.

Even if the critics have been busy getting the forensic kit out and finding fault, most viewers seem glued to this twisty Netflix thriller. In fact, it surprised a lot of people (myself included) with just how popular it’s become. It clocked 24 million views in its first week — not a record-breaker for Netflix, but rather impressive all the same — and that number shot up to 34.1 million for week two. Chuck in all the binge-watchers and you get a whopping 318.9 million hours by early July. That’s a lot of late nights and skipped bedtimes.

Why Does It Work? The Underdog Story Never Gets Old

Part of the reason ‘I Will Find You’ caught on so fast? It plays straight into everyone’s urge to root for the wrongly accused man fighting a system that treats him like yesterday’s rubbish. We’re built to cheer on the bloke who’s clearly had a raw deal — and the show doesn’t waste any time leaning into that angle.

Here’s the setup: Sam Worthington stars as David Burroughs, a Boston law professor serving time for murdering his own three-year-old son (Jasper Rainn Lawrence). Not exactly a light watch, but here’s the catch — David can’t even remember if he did it, and it feels like something’s been set up from the word go. Flash forward five years and his sister-in-law (Rachel, played by Britt Lower) comes to visit with the news that his son might still be alive after all. Cue a stack of revelations and a web of conspiracies, with even the prison guard in on the action. It’s not one of those limp, tossed-off exclusives Netflix sometimes used to throw at the wall just to see what might stick; the pacing is tight and the plot doesn’t faff about. Honestly, you’ll end up watching the lot in a single sitting if you’re not careful.

Performances and Characters: Worth Watching for the Cast Alone

The cast is a big factor too. Worthington gets all the best lines and actually delivers them without that usual action-hero posturing. Britt Lower’s performance as the dogged Rachel is a real bright spot — she’s as interested in picking apart the warped logic of the villains as she is in seeing justice. And Chi McBride brings his ‘seen it all’ energy to the role of the head of the FBI’s Boston Fugitive Task Force. McBride, by the way, seems to have cornered the market on playing long-suffering cops. Here, he just gets on with the job: asking the obvious questions that, funnily enough, no one else ever bothers with.

Is There Anywhere For It To Go Next?

Watching and reading ‘I Will Find You’ back-to-back, you can’t help but feel deja vu for old-school ‘Prison Break’. David Burroughs, Lincoln Burrows… not subtle, is it? Both get shafted with murder raps they may or may not deserve, and both stories love tossing up a new wrinkle every few episodes. As entertaining as that is, it does sometimes trip the show up — there’s occasional overload when every answer just leads to another twist. And, if we’re honest, when you’re siding with the hero, you’re sometimes cheering on some properly questionable behaviour. (Then again, ‘Prison Break’ proved there are only so many times you can have your lead escape from high-security prison before it all gets a bit silly. Most people agree it should have packed it in after one season, maybe two — after that it was just increasingly desperate.

‘I Will Find You’ risks the same fate if Netflix tries to squeeze more out of the story. The book is a standalone, so unless Harlan Coben fancies expanding the universe — like he did with his Myron Bolitar series — a second season could end up a bit of a car crash. Thing is, Netflix will struggle to resist milking a hit for all it’s worth, especially since Coben recently renewed his deal with them. There’s no official word yet on a second series, but it’s on the cards if the numbers keep rolling in, so hold onto your hats.

'I Will Find You': Main Cast

• Sam Worthington as David Burroughs
• Britt Lower as Rachel
• Jasper Rainn Lawrence as Matthew
• Chi McBride as the head of the Boston Fugitive Task Force