SERIES REVIEW – Netflix’s series Fool Me Once is a convoluted journey into the world of pharmaceutical fraud and post-traumatic stress, where the concept starts promisingly but the end result is disappointing. The mini-series’ attempts to present a deep portrayal of complex themes and complex characters ultimately end up in an incoherent and drawn-out narrative. The story, trying to focus on so many subplots, ends up losing the creators themselves, making it a forgettable piece of Netflix’s offerings.

In the year 2023, three remarkable miniseries about the Sackler family were made, two of which debuted on Netflix. One of them was The Killer Panacea, directed by Peter Berg and starring Matthew Broderick, Clark Gregg and Uzo Aduba. The other is Dopesick, directed by Danny Strong, which deals with the problem of opium addiction in the United States, including stories of drug companies, a mining community and the corridors of the DEA. Last but not least, Mike Flanagan’s series The Fall of the House of Usher took a gothic approach to the history of pharmaceutical fraud.

In addition to these series, several popular films on the subject of pharmaceutical fraud have been made, such as Jawan, Agents of Pain, Clock and Birth/Rebirth. These films and series shed light on the dark side of the pharmaceutical world, showing the intertwining of fraud, opium addiction and family drama.

Double loss for Maya… or not?

Based on Harlan Coben’s 2016 novel, Danny Brocklehurst’s adaptation of the series, Fool Me Once follows Maya Stern as she attends the funeral of her husband Joe Burkett, along with her daughter Lily, her mother-in-law Judith, and Neil and Caroline, the rest of the family. This huge personal loss for Maya comes just days after the untimely death of her sister Claire, who was married to Eddie and had two children, Abby and Daniel.

Maya has two good friends, Eva and Shane. Eva gives Maya a baby monitor camera hidden in a digital picture frame so she can keep an eye on Lily while she works. Although Maya has reservations about the device, as they already have a babysitter, Izabella, to look after Lily, she sets up the camera in Lily’s bedroom. Having overcome this problem, Maya returns to her job as a pilot instructor.

Shane tries to persuade her that it’s too soon to return, but Maya reassures him that this is her way of dealing with Joe’s death. However, the situation takes an unexpected turn when she sees Joe sitting with Lily in his bedroom on the baby monitor camera. When Isabella steals the footage, Maya must rely on her instincts and Sami’s detective skills to unravel the mystery of Joe Burkett’s surprising resurrection.

The fraudulent family

Harlan Coben and Danny Brocklehurst explore a range of themes in the eight-episode series Don’t Screw Over. With Maya’s past in the defence forces, the series delves into the complex subject of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Joe’s past reveals the unending consequences of bullying and the lengths reputable schools will go to in order to present a clear picture.

The foundations of the Burkett family were fraudulently built. In addition to Claire’s relationship with the Burketts, she also has a whole subplot about frivolous romance and unwanted children. DS Kierce and Eddie are characters who speak to us through alcoholism, with Kierce making further comments as a victim of pharmaceutical fraud. Corey and the baby monitor camera make us think about the pros and cons of the advances in technology. Alongside all this, there is the theme of revenge.

I’m not against a show, a miniseries or a movie having too many subplots alongside the central plot. You might as well take a lot of detours and then come back to the main story. But they all have to either be exciting or complement the centre of the narrative in a meaningful way; otherwise what’s the point? And the Netflix miniseries fails terribly in this respect.

Cheap turns

The PTSD-themed parts of Fool Me Once do not bring any substantial progress. Nor is the issue of harassment and its administrative cover-up given sufficient depth. Although the series puts a lot of emphasis on the pharmaceutical fraud angle, this aspect is only superficially touched upon in the concluding episodes, especially when compared to the time spent solving the mystery of Joe Burkett. The character of Joe Burkett, despite being central to the story, is not sufficiently developed and his actions seem forced. Pondering the absurdity of ‘technological progress’ only weakens the mini-series.

Too much time is devoted to Kierce’s character, even though he is only indirectly relevant to the story. Coben, the author of the novel, and Danny, the author of the adaptation, are probably aware that the story is about revenge. Despite this, the series focuses on trivial side missions rather than chasing dead people and ghosts, rather than on the depth, motivations and development of the characters. Perhaps saddest of all, none of the twists and turns are surprising enough to really impact viewers. These twists are more in the ordinary category, and will probably only surprise those for whom “Fool Me Once” is their first mystery-thriller miniseries.

The visuals are very impressive on a 4K TV

Fool Me Once is technically sound. It’s a difficult task to create an eight-part miniseries from a story that could be summarised in an email, but Nimer Rashed, David Moore and the rest of the team have brought this story to the screen in a professional manner. Chris Sowden and Alistair Upcraft’s cinematography is fine, the images are clean and the colouring is appropriate, but the whole piece lacks a particular style or unique character.

Steven Singleton and Gez Morris’ editing is mostly unobtrusive, except when they want to highlight important moments with a digital zoom technique that’s more like a YouTube video or Instagram reel than a Netflix miniseries. The music by David Buckley and Luke Richards is variable, sometimes annoying, sometimes only mildly distracting, not significantly different from the soundtrack of your average weekly C.I.D. or Crime Patrol episode. What makes the whole series frustrating is the slow pace. If the series had a greater emphasis on suspense, excitement and mystery, I would probably have a more favourable opinion.

They wasted all these great actors

The acting performances in the series Fool Me Once are outstanding. Adeel Akhtar’s exhausted, humorous and melancholic performance stands out from an already strong cast. Seriously, if the series had been about her and her relationship with the Burkett family and revenge, this would have been an eight. There are so many layers to Akhtar’s character, and so much depth to this tragic figure, that it’s annoying to see him ultimately come to nothing. The chemistry between Akhtar and Dino Fetscher is also great. If the miniseries had been a “True Detective”-style police story about pharmaceutical fraud, it would have gotten a much better rating, especially if Marty’s professional and personal life had been fleshed out in detail. But unfortunately, this opportunity was used in the most boring way.

It’s a shame, because Michelle Keegan was a good choice for the lead role, passionate and convincing in every scene. All members of the Burkett family were well portrayed. It’s a bit disappointing that Richard Armitage wasn’t given much of a chance, as he is a great, versatile actor, as we have seen in the Hobbit trilogy and The Berlin Mission. The other actors, including the child actors, did an excellent job. There are no under-performing actors in the series, just victims of script errors.

The book was bad, the series was no better

Usually when I find out that a not-so-good miniseries or movie is based on a popular novel, I tend to blame the readers who made the book a success. It is a misconception that readers of entertainment books are generally “smarter” than those who watch movies and series. I have to admit that just as there are fans of poor movies and shows, there are fans of books that are not exactly high quality.

The problem is that while book fans rarely seem to encounter book versions of bad films and series, film fans often encounter weak films and series based on popular, but not very good books that the plebs love. Can we finally change this trend in 2024? There are enough good books waiting to be made into films, and we should let the bad pulp novels lie fallow.

-Gergely Herpai (BadSector)-