How Harlan Coben became the king of potboiler TV

Why This Matters

Key context: <p>The prolific crime author’s latest Netflix thriller I Will Find You has become one of the streamer’s most-watched shows of all time – but what’s his secret?</p><p>Netflix’s all-time top 10 English language <a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10/most-popular/tv">series chart</a> is starting to look like a stale old thing. It is topped by Wednesday, which is four years old, and includes dusty old hits including Stranger Things season four (four years old), Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (four years old), The Queen’s Gambit (six years old), and Bridgerton season one (six years old).</p><p>But wait. Just before you write off Netflix as a platform half a decade past its peak, a plucky new entry <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/i-will-find-you-harlan-coben-netflix-all-time-top-10-1236658109/">has entered the all-time top </a>10 to liven things up. That show is I Will Find You, the latest belched out from the glistening ovipositor of Harlan Coben. If you’re a fan of Coben’s work – and we’ll get into that in due course – then I Will Find You will be instantly recognisable, since it bears many of the author’s hallmarks.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jul/30/how-harlan-coben-became-the-king-of-potboiler-tv">Continue reading...</a> This development from The Guardian highlights ongoing changes in the sector.