scorecard11 shows like 'Fool Me Once' to watch if you loved Netflix's latest thriller
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11 shows like 'Fool Me Once' to watch if you loved Netflix's latest thriller

Eammon Jacobs   

11 shows like 'Fool Me Once' to watch if you loved Netflix's latest thriller
Michelle Keegan as Maya Stern in Netflix's "Fool Me Once," and Amanda Abbington as Detective Sophie Mason in Netflix's "Safe."Netflix
  • "Fool Me Once" revolves around a grieving widow who sees her seemingly dead husband on a nanny cam.
  • Writer Harlan Coben has worked with Netflix on a number of other projects.

Mystery writer Harlan Coben has delivered yet another enthralling Netflix series with "Fool Me Once," which stars Michelle Keegan as Maya Stern, a grieving widow who spots her dead husband on a nanny cam inside her home.

From there, Maya is pulled into a dark conspiracy involving her murky military history, her husband's wrongdoings, and the mysterious death of her sister.

But for audiences who already made it through the twisty ending of "Fool Me Once" and want more, there are plenty of other shows to dive into with equally dramatic storylines.

1. "Safe"

1. "Safe"
Amanda Abbington as Sophie Mason and Michael C. Hall as Tom Delaney in "Safe."      Netflix

First up is "Safe," the 2018 Netflix series with "Dexter" star Michael C. Hall as Tom Delaney, a British widower whose daughter goes missing from a gated community in England. The show was an original idea from Harlan Coben for the streamer, rather than an adaptation of one of his books.

Although the plot mainly revolves around the disappearance of Jenny Delaney (Amy James-Kelly), the story creeps into the lives of the community's other residents, many of whom are harboring surprising secrets behind closed doors.

For subscribers who want to dive into another compelling mystery, "Safe" is a great place to start.

2. "The Stranger"

2. "The Stranger"
Hannah John-Kamen as the Stranger in "The Stranger."      Netflix

The premise behind "The Stranger" is pretty simple": A young woman (Hannah John-Kamen) approaches people in a seemingly normal town and tells them a devastating secret about someone close to them, before completely disappearing.

Much like "Safe" and "Fool Me Once," it's about unearthing secrets that seemingly normal are hiding. The main plot follows Hannah John-Kamen's titular stranger and her connection to Adam Price (Richard Armitage).

Like many of Coben's Netflix shows, "The Stranger" is based on his 2015 book of the same name, although the series takes place in the UK, rather than the book's US setting.

3. "The Woods"

3. "The Woods"
Grzegorz Damięcki as Pawel Kopiński in "The Woods."      Krzysztof Wiktor/Netflix

Harlan Coben has a knack for creating a messy mystery with plot twists and red herrings galore. If you want a new murderous puzzle to solve, look no further than "The Woods."

Grzegorz Damięcki plays Pawel Kopiński, a prosecutor who has to identify a body connected to the summer camp that he worked at in 1994.

The Polish series is set over two timelines, 1994, and 2019, as Pawel tries to uncover the truth behind several murders, and the disappearance of his own sister.

4. "Stay Close"

4. "Stay Close"
Richard Armitage as Ray Levine in "Stay Close."      James Stack/Netflix

If there's one thing audiences should expect from a Harlan Coben series, it's that most of the characters will have a mysterious past that they're trying to move on and get closure from. That's very much the case in "Stay Close."

It stars Cush Jumbo as Megan Pierce, a mother of three children who is happily settled down with her partner, Dave (Daniel Francis).

She hides the fact that she was an exotic dancer in the past, which becomes just one of the many secrets that swirl around the fictional town of Livingstone as a man disappears on the anniversary of an infamous missing person's case from years ago.

Northern Irish star James Nesbitt also leads the cast as Detective Michael Broom. And Richard Armitage has yet another Coben/Netflix role under his belt, as he plays a paparazzi photographer who never got over a lost love.

5. "The Innocent"

5. "The Innocent"
Mario Casas as Mateo Vidal in "The Innocent."      Quim Vives/Netflix

There are even murkier pasts behind the characters of 2021's "The Innocent," based on (you know where this is going) the book of the same name by Harlan Coben. The Spanish series follows Mateo Vidal (Mario Casas) a man who was convicted of manslaughter after accidentally killing a man during a brawl.

Nine years after the tragic event, Mateo and his wife Olivia Costa (Aura Garrido) try to make a new life for themselves, only for Mateo's past to cause problems for them. But it isn't long before ghosts from Olivia's own difficult past start to plague the couple.

From there, "The Innocent" takes viewers into a seedy underworld, full of corrupt policemen, blackmail, and murder. Perfect fun for all the family! Or not.

6. "Gone for Good"

6. "Gone for Good"
Tomas Lemarquis as Jo Ostertag in "Gone for Good."      Magali Bragard/Netflix

Here comes the predictable spiel: "Gone for Good" is loosely adapted from Harlan Coben's 2002 bestselling novel of the same name.

The French show revolves around young social worker Guillaume Lucchesi (Finnegan Oldfield) who tries to lead a normal life 10 years after seeing the deaths of his girlfriend Sonia (Garance Marillier) and his brother, Fred (Nicolas Duvauchelle).

But when Guillaume's current girlfriend Judith (Nailia Harzoune) disappears one night, he's forced to relive the trauma of the past — and to deal with the revelation that his brother might still be alive.

7. "Hold Tight"

7. "Hold Tight"
Grzegorz Damięcki as Pawel Kopiński in "Hold Tight."      Piotr Litwic/Netflix

Okay, "Hold Tight" is the last Harlan Coben Netflix series on the list, but it's worth your time. The 2022 Polish series is a follow-up to "The Woods," with Grzegorz Damięcki reprising his role as Pawel Kopiński.

It mainly revolves around the disappearance of Adam Barczyk (Krzysztof Oleksyn) who had been struggling to cope with the death of his friend, Igor (Piotr Napierala). After Adam vanishes, the neighborhood he lives in descends into paranoia-induced chaos.

While "Hold Tight" might not be as, well, tight as Coben's other Netflix shows, the series still manages to keep audiences hooked with its bizarre plot twists and surprising climax.

8. "Broadchurch"

8. "Broadchurch"
David Tennant as Alec Hardy and Olivia Colman as Ellie Miller in "Broadchurch."      BBC/Broadchurch screenshot

If we're talking about a buzzy crime drama, it's fair to say ITV's "Broadchurch" is the high bar for modern TV murder mysteries.

The fictional coastal town of Broadchurch is rocked when the body of 11-year-old Danny Latimer (Oskar McNamara) is found on the beach after he had been strangled to death.

The heartbreaking story is meticulously well-plotted, and it's very easy to get wrapped up in various theories during a first watch.

David Tennant and Olivia Colman lead the series as the detectives investigating Danny's death. While every cast member is at the top of their game, here, it's their performances that truly made it so great. Colman's ferocity in the final episode is particularly astounding.

Basically, "Broadchurch" is essential viewing.

9. "Vigil"

9. "Vigil"
Suranne Jones as Detective Amy Silva in "Vigil."      BBC

It's a "whodunit" aboard a submarine. That's it, that's the show.

If that simple premise doesn't hook you in, maybe this will. It stars Suranne Jones, star of other gripping dramas like "Doctor Foster" and "Gentleman Jack," as Detective Amy Silva, who is tasked with investigating a murder on a Royal Navy nuclear submarine off the coast of Scotland.

Not only is the detective trapped underwater with a murderer, but her investigation leads her into a conspiracy involving the Navy and MI5.

This claustrophobic thriller is arguably one of the BBC's best crime dramas of the last few years, and fans will be pleased to know that a second season is also on the way.

10. "The Fall"

10. "The Fall"
Gillian Anderson as Stella Gibson and Jamie Dornan as Paul Spector in "The Fall."      BBC

Gillian Anderson. Jamie Dornan. Do you really need any other reason to watch "The Fall"?

The BBC series sees Dornan play Paul Spector, a depraved killer of women in Belfast, with Anderson playing Stella Gibson, the detective tasked with hunting him down.

Although the show isn't overly gory, it can be quite a grim watch due to the sexual nature of Spector's crimes. Thankfully, it shows restraint in not showing the full extent of the violence he inflicts on his victims.

But his inflated ego and god complex make "The Fall" so compelling to watch because the audience is practically begging Stella to catch him as soon as possible.

"The Fall" is a white-knuckle ride crammed with tension and high-stakes drama.

11. "Happy Valley"

11. "Happy Valley"
Sarah Lancashire as Catherine Cawood in "Happy Valley."      BBC/AMC

Set in the north of England, "Happy Valley" introduces Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), a dedicated police officer who struggles to bring up her grandson after the tragic suicide of her daughter eight years earlier.

Although she has slowly patched up her broken family, Cawood is pushed to breaking point when the man who abused her daughter, Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), is released from prison.

As Royce instantly turns back to a life of crime, Cawood becomes obsessed with punishing him for what he did to her daughter. But it gets more complicated when her grandson gets curious about his real dad. It's riveting, heart-wrenching, and downright brilliant.

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