The finale sure packs a twist.

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Saturday, 06 January 2024 at 08:00 AM


If you’ve been on Netflix recently, you’ll know that there’s one show that’s dominating the charts, as Fool Me Once continues to grip viewers with its twists and turns.

Premiering on New Year’s Day, the eight-part series has already been binge watched aplenty, with viewers tearing through the episodes to find out whether what we saw on the nanny cam in the first episode was actually real.

With mystery and subplots dotted throughout, the finale is jam-packed full of revelations, as Harlan Coben returns with his signature double twist of an ending.

Well, it turns out that the novelist and TV series creator initially had doubts over bringing the action from the finale of the 2016 novel to the small screen.

Commenting on the success of the series so far, Coben exclusively told RadioTimes.com: “It’s a thrill. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much response, even with The Stranger or Stay Close, Safe – this much of the population just embracing the show.

“It’s been kind of a marvel to watch, and yeah, the ending, I love that people are getting caught up in that.

“When I wrote the book, I remember when I came up with the idea of the ending, I was like, ‘That’s really twisted, can I pull that off?’ and I think we did – I think for the show, we did. I’m really happy with it.”

Judith and Maya stood net to one another outside at Joe's funeral
Joanna Lumley and Michelle Keegan in Fool Me Once.
Vishal Sharma/Netflix

The new series follows Maya Stern (Michelle Keegan) as she’s rebuilding her life after the death of her husband Joe (Richard Armitage).

But she gets an almighty shock when she spots Joe on her nanny cam, and goes on a quest for the truth, trying to seek answers around his death and the murder of her own sister months prior.

As well as Keegan, the show stars Joanna Lumley and Adeel Akhtar, as well as Richard Armitage as Keegan’s on-screen husband Joe.

In his third Harlan Coben series appearance, Armitage takes on a decidedly smaller role, but the finale sure packs a plot twist – which may very well include Armitage’s best performance yet, according to Coben.

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The writer told RadioTimes.com: “Richard’s such a terrific actor, and the roles he’s playing on these shows are so different, the three he’s now played on Stay Close, The Stranger and now Fool Me Once. I think it works.

“This might be, even though it’s his smallest role in terms of screen time, it might be his best job. He’s really good. That last episode, without giving anything away, the scene in the park is just great.

“I was like, ‘Richard, you’re going somewhere on that.’ He’s such a hard-working actor, we’ve all become friends with him, but that’s sort of what we do.”

The synopsis for the series reads: “Detective Sergeant Sami Kierce (Adeel Akhtar) leads the homicide investigation into Joe’s death while grappling with secrets of his own.

“Meanwhile, Maya’s niece and nephew, Abby and Daniel, are trying to find the truth about their mother’s murder, several months earlier.

“Are the two cases connected? Fool Me Once follows these characters on a thrilling hunt for the truth that will reveal shocking secrets and change their lives forever.”