Fool Me Once author Harlan Coben responds to fans' spin-off idea

Cue pandemonium, parallel investigations and some serious digging into Joe himself.

It's safe to say that Fool Me Once has gone down a treat with viewers, who have loved the return of Richard Armitage in Harlan Coben's TV universe. But there has also been plenty of fanfare over the characters of DS Sami Kierce and Marty McGreggor, played by Adeel Akhtar and Dino Fetscher respectively.

The characters form an unlikely duo, who are placed together to investigate Joe's murder, and throughout the eight episodes have a love-hate relationship – with Akhtar's Kierce not really wanting to work with the bounding and optimistic Marty.

Fans have loved their partnership so much that they've even started calling for a series spin-off with the pair at the helm.

One fan wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): "Have just finished watching Fool Me Once on @NetflixUK & really need a spin off detective show with Dino Fetscher & Adeer Akhtar." Similarly, another fan has called for a "buddy cop spin off with Kierce & Marty". So, could it happen?

Well, RadioTimes.com posed the question to bestselling novelist and series creator Coben, who admitted that he loves the concept.

Coben exclusively told RadioTimes.com: "I love the idea. If Adeel wants to do it and we all want to do it, I would love to spin off and do something with Adeel again. He's an unusual talent and fun to work with. I love the dynamic between him and Dino as Marty."

Coben continued: "One of the things we want to do with these shows is to have a little fun, we're not trying to take ourselves that seriously, we want you to binge-watch it, enjoy it. Right now, I think the world could use a bit of escapism and that's really what we're trying to do.

"One of the scenes that my daughter [Charlotte Coben] actually wrote was when Marty and Kierce are at the elevator and they're talking about the laws about hitting a dog – that was my daughter's. It was funny on paper but the way those two did it, the back and forth that those two had with each other, I think that they really enjoyed working together as well."

While nothing will be revealed here about how Fool Me Once ends, Coben also confessed to RadioTimes.com that he thinks Armitage's role in the new series has been his best yet.

Read more:

• Fool Me Once delivers the year's first great TV showdown
• Fool Me Once stars reveal "unputdownable" changes from the book

Coben revealed: "Richard's such a terrific actor, and the roles he's playing on these shows are so different, the three he's now played on Stay Close, The Stranger and now Fool Me Once. I think it works.

"This might be, even though it's his smallest role in terms of screen time, it might be his best job. He's really good. That last episode, without giving anything away, the scene in the park is just great."

Fool Me Once is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.