It's happening! Harlan Coben is reuniting with Fool Me Once star Michelle Keegan for another Netflix adaptation, with an announcement confirming that production has begun on bringing The Woods to our screens.
The best-selling novel was first published in 2007, and is described as a "twisty page-turner" with one review calling it "a gripping story" and arguing that it "might just be the best thing Coben has written" (said Chicago Times, via Amazon).
The synopsis for the show, released by Netflix, says: "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," it adds.
"Determined to uncover the truth, Cope reunites with his first love, Lucy Silverfield, and together they begin a search for answers, unearthing years of lies, cover-ups, and family secrets that threaten to destroy everything he has built."
Michelle Keegan, who led the cast of Coben's hit Fool Me Once, which enjoyed eight weeks in the streamer's global top 10 shows, will return for this new adaptation in the role of Lucy Silverfield, with the character of Paul 'Cope' Copeland being played by Tom Bateman (Behind Her Eyes).
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Other cast members confirmed to be appearing in The Woods include Mandeep Dhillon (MobLand), Pearce Quigley (The Gentlemen), Rade Sherbedgia (Slow Horses, Downton Abbey), Shannon Watson (The Jetty), James Buckley (The Inbetweeners), Amelia Eve (Bly Manor), Pamela Nomvete (Nightsleeper), and Kerry Howard (Him and Her).
Tom Allen (Bake Off) is also taking a role, along with Call the Midwife's Charlotte Beaumont and Christopher Harper.
The Woods will also see Harlan Coben working again with his long-time collaborator Danny Brocklehurst (who wrote for Fool Me Once, as well as the more-recent Lazarus and Run Away). Other writers on board include Charlotte Coben (Dead Hot, Run Away), Tom Farrelly (Lazarus) and Joe Forrest (ITV's After The Flood).
Harlan Coben's bingeable thrillers have become an event for TV fans, and The Woods marks the 14th to be produced for Netflix. Run Away was the last to be released on the streaming platform in January, starring James Nesbitt, Ruth Jones, Alfred Enoch and Minnie Driver.
We called its big-twist ending one of Coben's most shocking, and Digital Spy's four-star review said that the Gavin and Stacey legend stole the show.
We have no doubt that fans will now be eagerly waiting for The Woods to land on our screens.
The Woods is coming to Netflix.
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
