Harlan Coben is venturing into the supernatural with his new Prime Video series, Lazarus, but despite the show’s paranormal elements, the story is still heavily inspired by the prolific author’s real life.
Lazarus, which premieres on Prime Video on Wednesday (October 22), was created by Coben and Danny Brocklehurst and follows a forensic psychologist (Sam Claflin) who investigates cold case murders after returning to his family home following the death of his father (Bill Nighy).
Speaking to Screen Time, Coben revealed how his own father’s death had a significant impact on the story. “I lost my father at a fairly young age, and I deal with this in a lot of stories, but this one mostly directly, I think,” he said.
In the show, Claflin’s character begins seeing premonitions of victims of unsolved murders from more than 20 years ago, including his sister (Alexandra Roach), who was killed when they were teenagers.
“You have a hope when you lose somebody of one day seeing them again, one day hugging them again… speaking to them again, and that’s what a lot of this story really is for Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy,” Coben added, noting “The idea that he can see his father again” is what held a lot of “appeal” for him as a writer.
As for the show’s supernatural elements, Coben said the initial idea came when he was playing tennis and noticed across the street the psychiatrist’s office he’d taken his father-in-law for depression.
“I was thinking all the misery that woman’s heard over the years, all the dark secrets, hours, days, weeks, months, years, where do those secrets go?” he shared. “That energy has to be somewhere in the walls, and what happens if that energy kind of doesn’t [go away].”
The best-selling novelist revealed how he and Brocklehurst wanted to tackle themes of “trauma, grief, all those sorts of things,” explaining, “We know how to do twists and turns, but if you also don’t move the heart, it’s not going to impact you.”
Coben has sold over 90 million copies of his 35 novels, many of which have been adapted for the screen. As part of his nine-year deal with Netflix, Coben produced several televised adaptations of his novels, including Fool Me Once, Missing You, The Stranger, Stay Close, and more.
Unlike his previous TV work, which was based on his books, Lazarus originated from an idea specifically made for the screen.
Harlan Coben’s Lazarus, Series Premiere, October 22, Prime Video
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
