Netflix Unveils Harlan Coben’s New Thriller With Fool Me Once Star — Title And First Details Revealed
Netflix has unveiled Harlan Coben’s next thriller, The Woods, adapted from his 2007 novel, locking in the title, revealing the cast, and bringing back a familiar face from Fool Me Once.
If you thought Netflix was slowing down on Harlan Coben mysteries, think again. The streaming behemoth just locked in its next thriller adaptation from Coben's library, complete with a brand-new title, a couple of familiar faces, and of course—missing people, dark secrets, and enough family drama to make you never want to send your kid to summer camp again.
What's This One Called?
The new show is officially titled 'The Woods,' borrowing its name (and presumably most of its plot twists) from Coben's 2007 novel. By my count, this is Coben project number fourteen for Netflix. That’s not a typo. The man is basically Netflix’s own mystery-generator at this point.
The Plot: Family Trauma, Lost Teens, and a Heap of Secrets
The story kicks off twenty years after Paul 'Cope' Copeland's sister, Camille, straight-up disappeared at a summer camp in the woods. The fallout apparently shredded the family, but nowadays Cope has put on a new face—he’s a hotshot barrister (that’s British for lawyer), single dad to a ten-year-old daughter, and seems (on the surface) to have moved on.
The calm cracks wide open when a man’s body turns up... not only dead, but supposedly murdered two decades earlier alongside Camille. Except—now his corpse makes Cope think his lost sister could still be alive. If all this sounds like exactly the kind of twisty mess Coben loves, trust your instincts.
Determined (because this wouldn’t be a Coben mystery otherwise), Cope teams up with his old flame, Lucy Silverfield, to dig through the mystery. You get the usual cryptic lies, deeply buried secrets, and old wounds getting ripped back open—a classic recipe for disaster, or at least six episodes of binge-worthy TV.
'But when the body of a man turns up — twenty years after he was supposedly murdered alongside Camille — Cope becomes convinced his sister may have made it out of the woods alive too.' (Netflix synopsis)
Who's Starring?
- Tom Bateman: Plays Paul 'Cope' Copeland, our brooding lawyer with a missing-sister-shaped chip on his shoulder.
- Michelle Keegan: Stars as Lucy Silverfield. You might remember her from Coben's 'Fool Me Once.' Here, she's playing Cope's long-lost love and his partner-in-detective-work.
- Also onboard: Mandeep Dhillon, Pearce Quigley, Rade Sherbedgia, James Buckley, Shannon Watson, Pamela Nomvete, Kerry Howard, Roger Barclay, Simon Lowe, Dean Fagan, Tom Allen, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Charlotte Beaumont, and Christopher Harper. Yes, it’s a full lineup—one of those ensembles where you’ll spot at least two 'hey, it's that guy!' faces.
The Creators, Crew, and Those Familiar Names
Coben is steering this one as creator and executive producer (honestly, would Netflix dare make a Coben show without him?). Danny Brocklehurst, who seems to write every other British crime drama out there—and has already wrangled multiple Coben adaptations for Netflix ('Fool Me Once', 'The Stranger', 'Stay Close')—is back handling the script and exec producing.
Directors this time are Andy De Emmony and Claire Tailyour, while Will McDonagh produces. Nicola Shindler and Richard Fee are also wearing executive producer hats.
Where Is It Filming—and When Can We Stream It?
Shooting is underway right now over in Manchester and northwest England—which has apparently become Netflix’s go-to spot for ominous weather and gloomy forests. As for a release date, Netflix is keeping that part of the mystery locked away for now. My guess? Expect it to pop up just when you’ve convinced yourself you’re finally all caught up on Coben’s sprawling Netflix universe.