Fool Me Once (TV series)

Fool Me Once is a British thriller television series, produced by Quay Street Productions for Netflix. It was adapted by Danny Brocklehurst from Harlan Coben's 2016 novel of the same name. It features Michelle Keegan, Adeel Akhtar, Dino Fetscher, Richard Armitage and Joanna Lumley.

It premiered on Netflix on 1 January 2024. As of 31 March 2024, it is the seventh-most viewed English language Netflix series of all time with 98.2 million viewers and 630 million hours watched.

Synopsis
Following the murder of her husband Joe Burkett, Maya Stern is given a nanny cam by her friend Eva Finn to watch over her daughter, Lily. However, after watching the camera footage, she sees Joe, who was presumed dead, visiting their daughter. Meanwhile, Abby and Daniel, her niece and nephew, seek to find the truth about the murder of their mother, Claire Walker, and the possible connections between both cases.

Cast
• Michelle Keegan as Maya Stern

• Dino Fetscher as DC Marty McGreggor

• Richard Armitage as Joe Burkett

• Joanna Lumley as Judith Burkett

• Adeel Akhtar as DS Sami Kierce

• Emmett J. Scanlan as Shane Tessier

• Marcus Garvey as Eddie Walker

• Dänya Griver as Abby Walker

• Natalie Anderson as Claire Walker

• Daniel Burt as Daniel Walker

• Adelle Leonce as Eva Finn

• Joe Armstrong as Alexander Dosman

• Anthony Howell as Christopher Swain

• Laurie Kynaston as Corey Rudzinski

• Hattie Morahan as Caroline Burkett

• James Northcote as Neil Burkett

• Jade Anouka as Nicole Butler

• Craige Els as Coach Phil Dawson

• Natalia Kostrzewa as Izabella

Development
The series is set in the United Kingdom as opposed to the American setting of the novel. Coben, who wrote the original novel, was an executive producer on the show. It is one of several adaptations of Coben's work by Netflix. Danny Brocklehurst was head writer and executive producer, and Nicola Shindler and Richard Fee were executive producers via Quay Street Productions. The episodes were directed by David Moore and Nimer Rashed.

Filming
Filming began in Manchester, England, in February 2023, and other locations in the northwest, with additional filming in Spain. Production wrapped in August 2023.

Release
The series has been available worldwide on Netflix since 1 January 2024. Eight episodes were released.

Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 69% approval rating with an average rating of 5.3/10, based on 16 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Fool Me Once reliance on twists might be too much a turnoff for some to check it out twice, but game performances by Michelle Keegan and Joanna Lumley ensure that there'll be no shame for those who stick around". Within its first week, it was watched by over 37.1 million Netflix accounts with 238,200,000 hours watched, one of the largest debuts of Netflix. All episodes appeared in the BARB Top 50 most viewed programmes of the week, with the opening episode attracting 6.34 million viewers, making the Top 10.