TLDR: Netflix has an exclusive deal with mystery author Harlan Coben to adapt his novels into binge-able thriller series. Since 2018, they’ve released 12+ shows set in the UK, Poland, Spain, France, and Argentina (not the US, weirdly).
The newest is Run Away, which dropped January 1, 2026 and immediately hit #1 globally, dethroning Stranger Things. Netflix releases a major British Coben mystery every New Year’s Day (Fool Me Once in 2024, Missing You in 2025, Run Away in 2026), creating an annual binge-watching tradition.
The shows follow a formula: affluent suburban family, buried secret from the past, missing person, endless twists. The Innocent (Spanish, 2021) has a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Richard Armitage stars in like half of them. Coming soon: I Will Find You (actually set in America for once) and a Myron Bolitar series with showrunner David E. Kelley.
If you’ve been on Netflix on New Year’s Day for the past few years, you’ve probably stumbled into a Harlan Coben mystery. These are the twisty British thrillers where someone goes missing, secrets get exposed, and literally everyone in the affluent suburb is lying about something.
Netflix has turned Harlan Coben adaptations into a cottage industry. They’ve made over a dozen shows based on his novels since 2018, and they keep coming. The newest one, Run Away, dropped January 1, 2026 and immediately became the most-watched show on the planet.
Here’s everything you need to know about Netflix’s Harlan Coben universe.
Who Is Harlan Coben?
Harlan Coben is an American mystery novelist who’s written over 30 books. His specialty is suburban thrillers where normal people’s lives get destroyed when buried secrets resurface. Think missing children, faked deaths, conspiracies involving rich families, and plot twists that make you yell at your TV.
His most famous creation is Myron Bolitar, a sports agent turned detective who stars in 11 novels. But Netflix started with his standalone thrillers instead.
The Netflix Deal: 14 Novels, Multiple Countries
In August 2018, Netflix signed an exclusive five-year deal with Coben for the rights to 14 of his novels. In October 2022, they renewed for another four years, adding the Myron Bolitar series.
Here’s the twist. Instead of setting everything in New Jersey (where Coben’s books take place), Netflix relocates the stories to different countries. They film in the UK, Poland, Spain, France, and Argentina with local actors speaking their native languages.
This “glocal” strategy lets Netflix create “local originals” for each country that also travel globally. A Polish viewer gets a Polish mystery. A British viewer gets a British mystery. Everyone wins.
The New Year’s Day Tradition
Netflix has basically colonized New Year’s Day with Harlan Coben mysteries. They’ve turned the release of a major British Coben show into an annual ritual.
- December 31, 2021: Stay Close
- January 1, 2024: Fool Me Once (98.2 million views, one of Netflix’s biggest hits ever)
- January 1, 2025: Missing You (ranked #3 globally in its debut week)
- January 1, 2026: Run Away (dethroned Stranger Things to hit #1)
This timing is strategic. New Year’s Day is a high-traffic period when people are home, slightly hungover, and looking for something to binge. Netflix uses Coben mysteries to hook viewers and reduce subscription cancellations.
Run Away (2026): The Newest One
Run Away dropped January 1, 2026 and immediately became a global phenomenon. It hit #1 in the US, UK, and dozens of other countries.
The Plot
Simon Greene (James Nesbitt) is a wealth manager in Manchester. His life fell apart when his eldest daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) became a drug addict. One day, Simon finds Paige busking in a park and tries to intervene. Her abusive boyfriend Aaron ends up murdered.
Simon becomes the prime suspect. Detective Isaac Fagbenle (Alfred Enoch from Harry Potter) investigates. Meanwhile, private investigator Elena Ravenscroft (Ruth Jones from Gavin & Stacey) is conducting her own investigation that intersects with Simon’s search.
The mystery involves organized crime, buried family secrets, and the usual Coben twists where everyone is connected to everyone else in impossible ways.
The Reception
83% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is strong for a Coben show. Critics praised James Nesbitt’s performance and Ruth Jones’s “against-type” casting as a serious investigator. Some said the plot got so twisty it bordered on “dizzying,” but that’s kind of the point.
Commercially, it was a monster. It dethroned the final season of Stranger Things on the daily Netflix charts.
The British Mysteries (The Main Engine)
The English-language adaptations filmed in the UK are the backbone of the franchise. They’re high-budget, star recognizable British TV actors, and follow the classic Coben formula.
Fool Me Once (2024)
This is the viral peak. Maya Stern (Michelle Keegan), an ex-military pilot, is grieving her murdered husband Joe (Richard Armitage). Then she sees him alive on her nanny cam shortly after his funeral.
That impossible sighting triggers an investigation into the wealthy Burkett family (led by Joanna Lumley’s ice-cold matriarch), revealing a conspiracy connecting Joe’s “death” to Maya’s sister’s earlier murder.
98.2 million views. One of Netflix’s most-watched English-language series ever. The “nanny cam” hook was perfect for social media virality.
Missing You (2025)
Detective Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar) specializes in missing persons. Her fiancé Josh (Ashley Walters) disappeared 11 years ago. She spots his face on a dating app, which reopens the case and connects his disappearance to her father’s murder.
This one was only five episodes instead of the usual eight. Critics gave it a 50% Rotten Tomatoes score, saying the compressed runtime rushed character development. But it still ranked #3 globally, proving audiences don’t care what critics think.
Stay Close (2021)
Three lives collide: Megan (Cush Jumbo), a suburban mom with a secret past as a stripper; Ray (Richard Armitage), a failed photographer; and Broome (James Nesbitt), a detective obsessed with a cold case.
Someone disappears on the anniversary of another disappearance from years ago, and all three get pulled into the investigation.
92% Rotten Tomatoes score. Critics loved the visual style (neon nightclub atmosphere contrasted with grim reality). This is the highest-rated British Coben show.
The Stranger (2020)
Adam Price (Richard Armitage) is a happy family man until a stranger in a baseball cap (Hannah John-Kamen) tells him his wife faked a pregnancy. His wife disappears. The stranger is systematically exposing everyone’s secrets, and the whole community unravels.
This was the proof-of-concept that moving the setting from New Jersey to Northern England actually works. It established Richard Armitage as the “face” of the Cobenverse.
Safe (2018)
Tom Delaney (Michael C. Hall from Dexter) is a widowed surgeon in a gated community. His daughter goes missing after a party. He investigates and discovers the walls built to keep danger out are actually trapping danger in.
This is an original screenplay by Coben, not an adaptation. Casting Michael C. Hall as a Brit (with a questionable accent) was an experiment in trans-Atlantic appeal. It worked. Fans love this one for its fast pace and closed-circle mystery.
The European Mysteries (Going Global)
Netflix doesn’t just make English versions. They’ve localized Coben novels for Poland, Spain, France, and Argentina, creating non-English mystery series that appeal to local audiences and global viewers who don’t mind subtitles.
The Innocent (Spain, 2021): The Gold Standard
This Spanish adaptation is widely considered the best Coben show on any platform. 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Director Oriol Paulo brought a distinct visual style and complex, non-linear structure. The plot follows Mateo (Mario Casas), an ex-con dragged into blackmail and conspiracy. But the execution elevates it beyond standard thriller territory.
If you only watch one Coben show, make it this one.
The Woods (Poland, 2020)
Set in Warsaw, this dual-timeline story moves between 1994 (a summer camp tragedy) and 2019. Prosecutor Paweł Kopiński believes his sister, who vanished during the camp incident, is still alive after a body is found with evidence linking to her.
89% Rotten Tomatoes. The strongest of the Polish trilogy. Dark, somber, atmospheric.
Hold Tight (Poland, 2022)
A teenage boy, Adam, disappears after his friend’s death. Set in Warsaw. Notable for featuring cameos from characters in The Woods, creating a loosely connected Polish Coben universe.
Just One Look (Poland, 2025)
Greta Rembiewska (Maria Dębska), a jewelry designer, finds a photograph showing her husband with people she doesn’t know. He disappears, forcing her to confront his past.
Released March 5, 2025. Critics said it stuck too closely to the formula without innovation.
Gone for Good (France, 2021)
Set in Nice on the French Riviera. Guillaume Lucchesi loses his girlfriend Judith ten years after losing his brother and first love. The sun-drenched Mediterranean setting offers a visual contrast to the gloomy British and Polish entries.
36% Rotten Tomatoes. Pretty but forgettable.
Caught (Argentina, 2025)
The first Latin American entry. Filmed in the stunning landscapes of Bariloche, Patagonia.
Ema Garay (Soledad Villamil from the Oscar-winning The Secret in Their Eyes), a journalist who exposes criminals via digital media, gets entangled with Leo Mercer (Alberto Ammann), a philanthropist suspected in a teenage girl’s disappearance.
Tackles darker themes like online grooming and vigilantism. The “Andean Noir” aesthetic is gorgeous, but critics said the protagonist makes frustratingly reckless decisions.
The Coben Formula (Why They’re All Similar)
If you’ve watched a few Coben mysteries, you’ve noticed they follow a pattern. Here’s the formula:
Affluent Suburban Setting
Almost every show is set in upper-middle-class suburbia. Gated communities, nice houses, manicured lawns. The horror comes from discovering that wealth and respectability hide rot underneath.
A Buried Secret from the Past
Something happened 10 to 20 years ago. A disappearance, a crime, a betrayal. The story starts when that buried secret resurfaces, triggering the current mystery.
This creates dual timelines (flashbacks to the past, present-day investigation), which pads the runtime without requiring expensive action scenes.
Missing Person or Faked Death
Someone disappears or appears to die. Then they’re spotted alive, or evidence suggests they never died. This “impossible” situation drives the investigation.
Everyone Is Connected
Every character is connected to every other character in ways that seem statistically impossible. The detective’s cold case? Turns out the victim knew the protagonist’s missing wife. The stranger exposing secrets? Related to the old crime.
Critics call this contrived. Fans call it addictive.
Endless Twists
Every episode ends with a cliffhanger. Every character has a secret. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, there’s another twist. By the finale, you’re drowning in revelations.
Richard Armitage Is in Half of Them
Richard Armitage is the unofficial “face” of the Cobenverse. He’s starred in:
- The Stranger (2020) – The family man whose wife faked a pregnancy
- Stay Close (2021) – The failed photographer
- Fool Me Once (2024) – The husband who may or may not be dead
James Nesbitt is a close second, appearing in The Five, Stay Close, and headlining Run Away.
Netflix uses a “repertory company” approach, recycling actors across shows to create continuity and familiarity for viewers.
What About Prime Video?
Not all Harlan Coben adaptations are on Netflix. Amazon Prime Video has a couple.
Lazarus (2025)
An original series co-created by Coben. Forensic psychologist Joel Lazarus (Sam Claflin) deals with his father’s suicide (Bill Nighy) and cold cases. It incorporates supernatural elements like psychic visions.
44% Rotten Tomatoes. It flopped. Turns out audiences want grounded suburban mysteries, not supernatural stuff.
Shelter (2023)
Based on the Mickey Bolitar YA novels (Myron Bolitar’s nephew). Targeted teenagers, leaned into high school tropes. Cancelled after one season.
The failure suggests the core Coben audience is older and prefers adult thrillers.
What’s Coming Next
I Will Find You (Late 2026/2027)
Starring Sam Worthington, Britt Lower, and Milo Ventimiglia. This one is actually set in the United States (finally!), marking a strategic shift to capture the domestic US audience more aggressively.
The Myron Bolitar Series (In Development)
This is the big one. Myron Bolitar is Coben’s most famous character, a sports agent turned detective who stars in 11 novels.
Showrunner: David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, The Lincoln Lawyer). Netflix is aiming for a multi-season procedural to rival Amazon’s Reacher. Unlike the limited miniseries format of past Coben shows, this could be a long-running franchise.
How to Watch Them
Most are on Netflix. The British ones (Run Away, Missing You, Fool Me Once, Stay Close, The Stranger, Safe) are available globally.
The European ones (The Innocent, The Woods, Hold Tight, Just One Look, Gone for Good, Caught) are also on Netflix, though availability varies by region.
Lazarus and Shelter are on Amazon Prime Video.
Should You Watch Them?
If you like twisty mysteries where you can binge eight episodes in a weekend, absolutely. If you hate plot contrivances and want everything to make perfect logical sense, you’ll be frustrated.
Start with The Innocent (Spanish, 100% Rotten Tomatoes) if you want the best one.
Start with Fool Me Once (British, 2024) if you want the most popular one.
Start with Run Away (British, 2026) if you want the newest one.
Just know going in: everyone has secrets, nothing is a coincidence, and the past is never really buried. That’s the Harlan Coben promise, and Netflix has turned it into a global binge-watching empire.
