The Woods are calling. Are you ready to find out what secrets they hide?
In a new 8-episode limited series adaptation of Harlan Coben’s 2007 novel, you’ll be able to explore The Woods for yourself. Now in production in Manchester and the North West of England, the new series was written by Danny Brocklehurst, fresh off the massive successes of his previous Coben adaptations, like Fool Me Once, and, most recently, Run Away. The new series stars Tom Bateman, Michelle Keegan, Mandeep Dhillon, Pearce Quigley, and more.
Coben created the series and serves as an executive producer through his company, Final Twist Productions. The Woods is a book that remains close to his heart, almost 20 years after it was published. (It was previously adapted into a Polish-language television series for Netflix.) “It’s one of my most personal novels,” Coben tells Tudum. “Like the story’s hero, Paul Copeland, I worked as a counselor at a sleepaway camp when I was too young for the job.”
Star Bateman couldn’t be more thrilled to join the Coben universe. “Harlan Coben’s shows are always such gripping events, so the opportunity to be part of his world is really exciting,” he tells Tudum. “The worlds are so rich and interesting to play as an actor because they deal with ghosts and secrets, and they pull the characters into the most unexpected places. I cannot wait to go on the journey with the audience, step by step, as the buried secrets of the story come to light.”
Co-star Keegan shares his enthusiasm for the story’s secrets. “What’s really exciting for me as an actor is that Lucy is dealing with these deep, personal secrets,” she tells Tudum. “So, I get to really explore her vulnerability and that emotional push and pull, which just makes the story feel so real and powerful.”
Produced in partnership with Quay Street Productions, part of ITV Studios (Fool Me Once, Run Away, After the Flood), The Woods is a chilling mystery with a romantic core. “I think the themes, especially the long-lost-love aspect between Paul and Lucy will resonate with readers,” Coben says. “I was thinking about those brief romances, those intense summer loves, and what could happen when those yearnings never fully fade away. Paul and Lucy were just that, an intense summer-camp romance, but because they ended up ripped apart in a shocking tragedy, they still wonder ‘what if.’ ”
Read on to learn more about The Woods, and stay tuned for more information as the trees start to block out the sun.
Twenty years ago, Paul ‘Cope’ Copeland’s sister, Camille, vanished from a summer camp in the woods, a loss that tore his family apart. Now a top barrister and devoted single father to ten-year-old daughter Cami, Cope appears to have rebuilt his life. But when the body of a man turns up — twenty years after he was supposedly murdered alongside Camille — Cope becomes convinced his sister may have made it out of the woods alive too. Determined to uncover the truth, Cope begins a search for answers, unearthing years of lies, cover-ups, and family secrets that threaten to destroy everything he has built.
The Woods is one of 14 titles from bestselling author Coben produced for Netflix. Coben continues his work with screenwriters from around the world to bring his novels to life onscreen, across four languages so far.
The Woods is written and executive produced by Danny Brocklehurst, who previously adapted Coben’s Run Away, Fool Me Once, and Stay Close for Netflix. “Each adaptation has a different style, a different flavor,” says Brocklehurst, emphasizing that he’s excited to explore the sibling dynamic that’s at the center of The Woods.
Brocklehurst says that working on thrillers “uses a different part of your brain,” noting that part of the pleasure in telling these stories is finding the “emotional throughline” amid all the twists and turns. You’ll have to tune in to find out exactly what those twists and turns have in store.
The cast of The Woods includes:
Author Coben has nothing but glowing things to say about the cast assembled to play his characters. “What a thrill I get to collaborate again with the amazing Michelle Keegan [Michelle was the lead in Netflix’s Fool Me Once],” he says. “And Tom [Bateman] is such a huge talent and the perfect leading man. You can’t take your eyes off either one of them. They are the ideal Paul and Lucy.”
“I play Paul Copeland, a man haunted by the guilt of his sister’s disappearance when they were kids,” Bateman says. “Despite having lost almost everything, he continues to fight for what’s right as a barrister and be the best father for his daughter, who he raises on his own.”
Keegan sees her role as a big departure from playing former military pilot Maya Stern in Fool Me Once. “Lucy is a totally different character to Maya,” she tells Tudum. “She’s a little damaged and never found true peace. She believed that by moving away and having a successful career, she could escape the past, but somehow it never leaves her.”
And Keegan isn’t the only name that will be familiar to fans of Coben’s prior Netflix adaptations. “When you add in the rest of the cast — including Mandeep Dhillon, Pearce Quigley, James Buckley, Tom Allen, [and] Tracy-Ann Oberman reprising her role in Run Away …” Coben continues. “It’s an embarrassment of riches.”
There’s no word yet on a release date for The Woods, but the series is now in production in the UK. Nicola Shindler and Richard Fee executive produce the series, with Will McDonagh producing. The series will be directed by Andy De Emmony (The Feud, Vigil) and Claire Tailyour (The Blame, Beyond Paradise).
“I cannot describe how grateful I am to the Netflix viewers for welcoming us into your homes,” Coben adds. “It’s such an honor, and I never take it for granted. Not for a second. Tennis icon Billie Jean King says, ‘Pressure is a privilege.’ I love that. I don’t want to let you down, and every series means the world to me. Netflix has been a wonderful creative partner, and we want to keep pushing ourselves to new heights.”
While you wait for The Woods, why not browse Netflix’s Harlan Coben collection? The next series based on one of his books, I Will Find You, hits Netflix this year.
