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‘Literally anything can happen, and it does’ – Harlan Coben’s Lazarus star reveals why the biggest twist is when you least expect it

Laz stares into the distance
Sam Claflin as Laz in Harlan Coben’s Lazarus. (Image credit: Prime Video)

Harlan Coben’s Lazarus drops on Prime Video on October 22, and I guarantee that you’re not ready for any of the unhinged twists and turns in this six-part series.

Without giving away any spoilers, the show follows a forensic psychologist known only as Laz (Sam Claflin) who comes face-to-face with numerous cold cases after the death of his father, Dr. Lazarus (Bill Nighy). If anything, this synopsis is massively downplaying what’s to come, but it’s to your advantage if you start watching with as little knowledge as possible.

But not too little, of course, because what would be the point of me? If you’ve watched Coben’s previous Netflix shows like Fool Me Once and Missing You, you’ll know the man is the king of a perfectly executed mystery with enough twists on hand to keep you up at night.

I’m not even sure where to begin with which twist is the most unexpected, so I asked star Alexandra Roach (who plays Jenna) for some help – and her answer took me by surprise.

Harlan Coben’s biggest twist is in episode 1, says Alexandra Roach

Lazarus – Official Trailer | Prime Video – YouTube Lazarus - Official Trailer | Prime Video - YouTube

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I’m obviously not going to tell you any of what’s to come, but keep your eyes peeled for the end of episode 1. When Roach first read the script, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“Literally anything can happen and and it does,” she tells me. “Within the end of the first episode, you’re just sat there, open-mouthed. You think it’s one thing and that you’ve seen it before, and then all of a sudden it turns on a hairpin. You’re in a different world completely. I loved that about reading it when I was sent it.

“I remember getting to the end of episode 1 and just being so surprised by the ending. It’s coming from the mind of Harlan Coben, and he’s such a great storyteller. You just don’t know what’s going to happen next, and it’s completely surprising.”

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But just how prepared should you be when you’re binging the series? I’m using my completely fake ‘surprise-o-meter’ to judge this. If a show like Midsomer Murders is at the bottom (meaning, totally guessable) and Utopia (the bonkers dystopian thriller Roach also stars in) is at the top, where does Lazarus rank?

“I think it’s around eight or nine on the scale,” Roach concludes (with 10 being the most surprising). “I think as humans, we like to be surprised, and there’s so much out there. We’re watching content on our phones and everything. It’s really nice to have that sort of that raw experience of of having no idea of where this story is going to go.”


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Jasmine is a Streaming Staff Writer for TechRadar, previously writing for outlets including Radio Times, Yahoo! and Stylist. She specialises in comfort TV shows and movies, ranging from Hallmark’s latest tearjerker to Netflix’s Virgin River. She’s also the person who wrote an obituary for George Cooper Sr. during Young Sheldon Season 7 and still can’t watch the funeral episode.

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