Harlan Coben Knows What He Wants His Next Netflix Show to Be

Harlan Coben, the highly acclaimed author behind bestselling works like Tell No One and Run Away, has revealed what he wants his next Netflix show to be. In the past decade, the author has worked alongside the powerful streamer to bring to life small screen adaptations from his body of work, like Stay Close and Fool Me Once. As he enjoys the release of his latest Netflix production, Run Away, as well as his first experiment with true crime, the author talks about his future in the vast world of TV adaptations.

Coben recently spoke to Collider while promoting his latest release, the true crime docuseries titled Harlan Coben’s Final Twist. The show sees Coben standing in front of the camera as the on-screen host: “I’ve always been fascinated by true crime. It’s always something I’ve been influenced by.” He adds:

“But I was actually really thinking lately more about how truth is stranger than fiction. These stories, especially what we’re covering in Final Twist, if I had written them as a novel or if I had made them into a Netflix TV series, I would’ve gotten eight million emails saying, ‘Oh, that can’t happen. That’s so unrealistic.’ They would’ve thrown the book out the window at me or hit me or something. But all these are true. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and you can’t get away with that with fiction, so I thought it’d be interesting.”

Even though he has already released many crime dramas, and has found himself experimenting with other genres, Coben is pretty certain about what he wants to do next with Netflix. He shares some of his remaining novels he wants to adapt, but also talks about taking other authors’ works to the small screen:

“I think the novel that hasn’t yet been adapted that I’m really anxious to get started… Well, there’s two. I’ll cheat. I’ll say Six Years, which is sort of a love story and a thriller built into one, and The Boy From the Woods. Those are the adaptations I’d love to work on next.

“I’m afraid to answer the second one, because I have so many friends who are writing great novels, and they’ll all get angry at me that I didn’t pick theirs. But I’ve always loved Lawrence Block’s Matthew Scudder series, which I kind of grew up on, and I’d love to update that maybe and bring something by Lawrence Block back.”

What’s Next for Harlan Coben After ‘Run Away’ and ‘Final Twist’?

The mystery and thriller writer has found Netflix to be the perfect collaborator. The streamer has already released several adaptations of his work, including Gone for Good, The Stranger, and The Innocent. Prime Video has also released Coben’s Shelter and Lazarus (co-created by Coben, but not based on a previous novel by the author). However, Netflix remains his go-to in terms of creative freedom, as most of his adaptations have become highly successful with worldwide audiences.

When asked what he actually wants to do next regarding his career in television, Coben says, “I always say ‘never,’ and then I end up doing things. I said I’d never collaborate on a novel, and then I did it with Reese Witherspoon.” The author also teases the upcoming Netflix series, I Will Find You, which still doesn’t have a release date:

“I really just want to make better and better shows in terms of the TV world. Longer and shorter stories, I want to work with other writers, and actors, and creators.

“I want to do some material that’s not strictly my own as well. I’d love to help some other novels get adapted that haven’t seen the light of day. We’ve just finished filming the next Netflix American show, which is called I Will Find You, with Sam Worthington from Avatar, Britt Lower from Severance, and Milo Ventimiglia from This is Us as our three leads. That’ll be the next project that’s coming out.”