Fool Me Once

Britain loves a crime drama, to the point where it’s gotten hard to keep up with the sheer volume of them. Some are broad and kitschy, some are dark and sophisticated. Fool Me Once finds a way to straddle a lot of these dividing lines and has been widely loved as a result.  

Michelle Keegan’s Maya Stern is an example of a part of this show that is sometimes blockbuster and sometimes deep and complex. Keegan’s masterful performance puts the exclamation point in her transition from soap actor to future BAFTA winner.

Maya is a compelling lead: an all-action British army veteran who commandeers private helicopter tutorials to chase down her enemies. She is a formidable protagonist with the agency and foresight to stay one step ahead of the drama, yet her actions never feel overly farfetched and remain rooted in reality, drawn from logic and real life.  

The same can’t be said for everything in Fool Me Once and some things do stretch the bounds of credibility. Examples include a digital photo frame that also captures video (not found in many homes) and a ‘DNA website’ in which Maya’s nieces Daniel and Abby receive a new brother request from their estranged half-brother.

Back to the positives, the final twist, the most crucial (and hard to get right) element of the British crime drama, is deeply satisfying. Maya (literally) frames her tormentors in a heart wrenching but at the same time gratifying ending – fittingly holding a mirror up to the tyranny of big pharma and the ruling classes.   

Harlan Coben has become the authority on crime drama in the UK over the last few years and the country will look forward to his next offering.