There’s a particular kind of fiction that doesn’t shy away from excess — on the contrary, it thrives on it. “Fool Me Once” doesn’t politely ask to bend the limits of believability; it hurls itself across them with hypnotic fervor. Adapted from Harlan Coben’s novel by Danny Brocklehurst, the series doesn’t just engage the familiar mechanics of psychological thrillers — it stretches them to their breaking point. Across eight tense episodes, the narrative leads viewers through a journey where reality fractures and reshapes at every turn, always seen through the restless gaze of a protagonist whose confrontation with trauma dissolves the boundary between perception and paranoia.
Maya Stern, portrayed with fierce restraint by Michelle Keegan, straddles the line between control and combustion. A former army captain, haunted by scars no uniform — or grief — can conceal, she returns to civilian life just after witnessing the brutal, daylight murder of her husband. But what first appears to be a standalone tragedy quickly morphs into something more disquieting: days after the funeral, a seemingly ordinary home video shows her supposedly deceased husband alive. From that moment, sorrow gives way to an obsessive investigation, driven not only by instinct and tenacity, but by a gnawing sense of unreality.
Maya’s emotional wounds intersect with a prior trauma: the violent death of her sister Claire months earlier, during an alleged robbery. This unresolved pain reawakens buried suspicions and injects fresh urgency into her search for answers. The series subtly suggests that these events are more than coincidental — they are entangled within a wider, darker web. Rather than offering easy clues or comforting resolutions, “Fool Me Once” demands that viewers read between the lines, interpret silences, and question every detour.
Within this unstable universe, the supporting characters operate as catalysts of ambiguity and tension. Judith, Maya’s mother-in-law, played by Joanna Lumley, transcends the usual trope of the imperious matriarch. A sharp-tongued psychiatrist with a talent for veiled contempt, she becomes a destabilizing force in Maya’s life, chipping away at her credibility and composure. Their verbal clashes crackle with barely restrained hostility. Meanwhile, Detective Sami Kierce, played with grounded sensitivity by Adeel Akhtar, embodies the rational pursuit of truth — even as he grapples with a deteriorating health condition that clouds his judgment and adds fragility to his moral compass.
As the plot unfolds, the series adopts a near-kaleidoscopic rhythm: timelines blur, memories invade the present, and the story bends to fit Maya’s fractured psyche. In one defining scene, she confronts her daughter’s nanny and reacts with startling violence when threatened, revealing the hair-trigger tension she lives under. In another, she lashes out at an aggressive man during a children’s soccer game, laying bare the rupture between who she was trained to be and who the world expects her to become. Each of her choices forces the audience to reconsider whether she’s being gaslit — or simply unraveling.
Despite its flirtation with implausibility, the show never spirals into chaos. Its logic remains internally consistent, grounded in a principle of growing disquiet. The British setting replaces the original novel’s New York backdrop, yet it amplifies the mood of isolation and suspicion. The script balances the pulse of a thriller with the pause of introspective drama, allowing the suspense to simmer and expand. Rather than merely toying with its viewers, “Fool Me Once” drags them into a vortex where every truth is temporary and every clue might be a trap.
It’s in this liminal space — between the credible and the deranged — that “Fool Me Once” finds its voice. Its excesses aren’t flaws but deliberate narrative tools, wielded to unsettle, provoke, and keep uncertainty alive. Michelle Keegan anchors the chaos with a performance rich in restraint and emotional complexity, turning Maya into far more than a vessel for grief. In the end, the show may hint at resolution, but what truly lingers is the unease of having witnessed a story where reality was never entirely in focus.
Series: Fool Me Once
Creator: Danny Brocklehurst
Year: 2024
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 8/10