Harlan Coben’s deal with Netflix has made him the undisputed king of the weekend binge, with shows like The Stranger and Fool Me Once puzzling and exciting viewers alike. However, with the release of I Will Find You – which we actually reviewed favorably – a new concept is brewing: “Coben Fatigue.” Audiences are potentially starting to see right through the formula, no longer feeling excited by the same old story beats.
Are we finally getting bored with the Coben universe, or are people realizing that these shows are being engineered for retention (via endless cliffhangers and plot swerves) over actual narrative quality?
“Nonsensical Plot”
A massive frustration in an online Netflix community, pointed out by one unimpressed viewer, is that the characters in I Will Find You constantly make baffling choices just to move the convoluted plot forward. There’s a growing sense that the mystery isn’t clever, but merely chaotic.
For instance, one of the main characters, David, takes a gun during a tense meeting, only to randomly drop it in a back alley and pick up a piece of junk instead.
As one viewer put it:
“This shit is nonsensical; I can’t help but critique the decisions made by the characters… why is all this silliness even happening?”
To be fair, Harlan Coben stories are known for being bizarre and occasionally odd. In some ways, they are designed to embrace chaos to make the story unpredictable. Perhaps I Will Find You, as an adaptation, just took things a step too far.
“Every Show is the Same”
This is exactly where the fatigue sets in – a sentiment that was vented within the same community. Viewers are realizing that Coben’s adaptations have become entirely predictable, relying on the same formula every single time.
Once you’ve seen two or three Harlan Coben series, you feel like you’ve seen them all. They rely on almost identical structures: an affluent professional, a sudden disappearance, a mountain of red herrings, and a dramatic ending that forces separate subplots together. One viewer suggested that the gimmick is officially up:
“I watched three of the series, but at that point I was used to the format. I watched four episodes of I Will Find You and HATED it. I will never ever check anything out that he is behind. This is Exhibit A in the dumbing down of American culture. What a bunch of schlock.”
The “Next Episode” Trap
To be fair, this is a broader issue with Netflix in general. It is clear the media giant shares a blueprint with production teams and its editors, asking them to pace shows with structural cliffhangers that trick you into binging. It’s an exhausting tactic because even if you aren’t enjoying what you’re watching, Netflix uses these episodic cliffhangers to keep your eyes on the screen. Coben shows are notorious for this.
As a result, the story never flows naturally; instead, it feels like a collection of 10-to-20-minute twist intervals explicitly engineered for the Netflix algorithm.
Every show appears to be doing this nowadays, from documentary series to romantic dramas. One viewer pointed out that during I Will Find You, they found themselves constantly checking how much time was left in an episode. Despite plenty of action happening on screen, they simply did not care about the characters:
“It started feeling less like a real story and more like the writers were desperately trying to keep viewers clicking ‘Next Episode’… the show wanted me to be shocked, but I was never invested enough to be shocked.”
Personally, I am really not rooting for a “brain rot” future – I hope this trend dies out. Give me substance over algorithmic traps any day. Unfortunately, Netflix and many other global companies know exactly how well this formula works.
The Comfort Shows Argument
Still, there’s a reason why Netflix keeps greenlighting these shows. While I don’t believe Harlan Coben adaptations are completely dead in the water – some are genuinely good, and the market is clearly there – it is because viewers will watch them anyway for that feel-good, comfortable familiarity.
Not all TV and film needs to be deeply serious. Some viewers just want to come home after a hard day’s work and “turn off their brain,” or endure a hangover-binge after a heavy night out. There’s a market for every genre, and Harlan Coben shows deliver exactly what they promise: cliffhangers and mystery. If you are inclined toward those kinds of storylines, then these shows are for you. Think of it like the Hallmark Channel trying to make thrillers. Though, to be fair, that’s probably a bit disrespectful to the source material.
