Netflix Brings Harlan Coben’s Story to Life with ‘The Woods’ Featuring Tom Bateman and Michelle Keegan
Netflix has announced its latest adaptation of a work by Harlan Coben, continuing the platform’s successful collaboration with the American author. The new project is a British version of The Woods, starring Tom Bateman from Based on a True Story and Michelle Keegan, the lead of Fool Me Once.
Joining Bateman and Keegan in the cast are Mandeep Dhillon (MobLand), Pearce Quigley (Small Prophets), and Rade Sherbedgia (Slow Horses).
In this adaptation of The Woods, which was previously adapted by Netflix in Poland, Bateman portrays Paul ‘Cope’ Copeland, a man whose sister Camille vanished from a summer camp, leading to familial strife. Now a successful barrister and devoted single father to his daughter, Cami, Cope’s world is upended when the body of a man is discovered—20 years after he was believed to have been murdered alongside Camille. Convinced that his sister may still be alive, Cope seeks the truth, reconnecting with his first love, Lucy Silverfield, played by Keegan. Together, they embark on a quest for answers, uncovering a web of deception and buried family secrets.
Coben’s adaptations have consistently performed well for Netflix, and Keegan’s previous role in Fool Me Once secured its place as one of the platform’s most-watched shows in 2024. The latest project will see Coben collaborate again with longtime associate Danny Brocklehurst and producer Nicola Shindler at Quay Street. The ensemble cast also includes James Buckley, Shannon Watson, Pamela Nomvete, and several others.
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Brocklehurst leads the writing team with contributions from Charlotte Coben (Dead Hot, Run Away), Tom Farrelly (Lazarus, Judge Dee’s Mystery), and Joe Forrest (After The Flood). Executive producers include Coben, Shindler, Richard Fee, Brocklehurst, and Charlotte Coben.
Coben remarked on the adaptation: “The Woods is a haunting and very personal story. It has everything you expect from us—twisty, turning, gasp-inducing—but at the core is a story of old love and yearning.”
