Who doesn’t look a good binge of a mystery/thriller series on streaming? For some reason, there’s something oddly comforting about sitting down on the sofa after a long day and wiling away your evening watching other people’s lives fall about due to murder and dark secrets from their past coming back to bite them. Maybe it makes us feel better about our own boring lives in some way? Who knows, I’m not a psychiatrist, I’m just a fellow hopeless addict, like you.
Recommended VideosIn many ways, the cream of the crop of mystery/thriller series available on Netflix is anything based on a Harlan Coben novel. The globally best-selling author knows how to string along a fascinating crime-ridden tale and, for the most part, the screen adaptations of his works have replicated that knack. They might not be what you’d call prestige TV, but once you’ve clicked play on one of Coben’s shows it’s very difficult to stop watching until the credits roll on the final episode and you realize you’ve got to get up for work in two hours (oh, come on, I know you’ve been there).
For those that haven’t yet experienced the world of Harlan Coben on Netflix but are looking to dive in, however, you might be wondering about the best place to start and which order to watch all the titles in. Allow me to solve the mystery…
Harlan Coben Netflix shows release order, explained
Although the first screen adaptation of one of the author’s works was Tell No One, a French thriller film released in 2006, it wasn’t until 2018 when Harlan Coben’s novels got the streaming TV treatment, which has proven to be the absolute best form for bringing his stories to life. Over the past six years and counting, Netflix has partnered with the writer to generally adapt at least one book per year, with some years delivering multiple releases.
Thanks to the worldwide appeal of Coben’s books, Netflix’s adaptations have taken a truly international approach. Of the eight available to stream on the platform at the time of writing (more are on their way), four of them are European productions while the other half are English language series. The Woods and Hold Tight are Polish productions, The Innocent is Spanish, and Gone for Good is French.
The remaining four are all British-based adaptations of Coben’s works, despite the New Jersey native generally setting his books in his home country. While they are all standalone projects, The Stranger, Stay Close, and Fool Me Once are connected by the presence of actor Richard Armitage starring in all three in different roles.
If you want to approach all of Netflix’s Coben shows as one big shared universe, here’s how to watch them in order:
- Safe (2018)
- The Stranger (2020)
- The Woods (2020)
- The Innocent (2021)
- Gone for Good (2021)
- Stay Close (2021)
- Hold Tight (2022)
- Fool Me Once (2024)
Other Harlan Coben TV series
While Coben’s collaborations with Netflix have been his most fruitful, there are a couple of other TV adaptations of his novels. 2016’s thriller miniseries The Five kickstarted the small screen’s obsession with the author. Although the show is hard to find on streaming, those in the U.K. with a Sky subscription can look for it on Sky Stream. Secondly, 2023 delivered YA mystery series Shelter on Prime Video. Sadly, that one was cancelled after just one season, but all eight episodes can still be found on the Amazon Studios platform.
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