You might be a fan of the Harlan Coben Netflix shows like Missing You, Fool Me Once, and The Stranger, but most fans of those shows probably don't know about one of Coben's other shows, Shelter, was canceled on Prime Video after one season. And, it was a big mistake.
Harlan Coben's Shelter premiered on Prime Video on Aug. 18, 2023. The series ran for eight episodes through Sept. 22, 2023. The series was created by Harlan and Charlotte Coben and starred Jaden Michael, Abby Corrigan, Adrian Greensmith, Sage Linder, Brian Altemus, and Constance Zimmer.
The series tells the story of Mickey Bolitar (Michael) who investigates the disappearance of his girlfriend in a mysterious small town. You might recognize the name Bolitar if you're a fan of Coben's works.
For me, there are two main reasons (and a lot of little ones) why canceling Shelter was a bad move for Prime Video.
Shelter is a good show
Shelter is not a great show, but it's far from the worst thing we've seen on the streaming service. The premise is good, and th cast and their performances are good. It's a little cheesy and predictable, but that's what these kinds of shows are. There's just no way that it should have been canceled after one season.
I'm not alone, either! The series has a near-90% critical approval rating and near-80% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
I'm not going to spoil the ending if there are fans out there who want to read the book for a satisfying conclusion, but there's clearly more to the story. We could have seen a lot more of Mickey and the gang in Shelter season 2.
I also think the weekly release strategy for a show like this was absolutely the wrong move! Netflix fans of Coben's projects have been binge-watching them since day one. Prime Video thinking people would tune in weekly definitely missed the mark.
There is at least one Harlan Coben show in the works on Prime Video
If we have learned one thing in the streaming age, it's that it pays off to have a lot of similar content. Netflix is the king of this kind of thing right now. They find a show that works. Then, they find another that is similar, and then they make a deal with the creative team to keep cranking out hits. This has already happened with -- you guessed it! -- Harlan Coben.
Over the last seven years, Netflix is produced nine of Coben's shows and the 10th is on the way in March 2025. The streamer found something its audience loves, loves, loves, and Netflix decided to make more, more, more. It's a great strategy.
Prime Video has another show from Coben in the works right now. Lazarus starring Sam Claflin, Alexandra Roach, and Bill Nighy is coming to Prime Video sometime in the next year, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.
Prime Video could have cashed in on the ground floor with Shelter. With more of Coben's projects in the works, those fans were going to be looking for similar content soon. All they had to do was a little heavy lifting with their investment up front, keep Shelter going for a couple of seasons, and wait for the other shows to be released. Instead, they canceled the show.
The other issue is that there are so many of Coben's Netflix shows that are rewatchable!
Honestly, if Shelter was on Netflix instead of Prime Video, it would have been a massive success. Prime Video just doesn't have the same reach or consistent following Netflix has. When a new Coben show was released on Netflix, fans would have tuned in for Shelter when they were looking for the next thing to watch. That's just how it goes with the Harlan Coben shows. This is a rabid fanbase, and they show up regardless if the show is great or not, but it's pretty clear they only do that on Netflix.
Fool Me Once, which premiered a month after Shelter was canceled, became one of the top Netflix releases of all time. In its first few weeks on Netflix, more fans watched that show than Stranger Things season 3. That's wild! And, Prime Video threw it all away.