When Netflix released its semi-annual data dump for the first half of 2026, the No. 3 spot on the most-watched TV list went to Harlan Coben’s “I Will Find You,” a series that debuted only 13 days before the report’s cutoff date.
The adaptation, which follows a father (Sam Worthington) imprisoned for his son’s murder who receives evidence suggesting he may still be alive, logged an impressive 63.9 million views from its June 18 release through the end of the month, boosting “I Will Find You” to rank only behind limited series “His & Hers” and tentpole favorite “Bridgerton” Season 4 for the six-month period.
“I Will Find You” also scored Netflix’s biggest launch of 2026 so far, joining a dozen other TV adaptations of the thriller author’s work that have nearly all found ratings success on the platform. These projects have landed in the streamer’s global top 10 list 33 times and reached the top 10 in 92 countries since the lists’ debut in 2021, a Netflix insider told TheWrap. Another hit this year was “Run Away,” which was the No. 5 most-watched TV show for the six-month period with 50.3 million views since its Jan. 1 release. Coben’s “Fool Me Once,” which debuted in January 2024, was the most-watched Netflix show from January through June 2024 with 107.5 million views, outpacing “Bridgerton” Season 3, and ended up on the all-time list for a year from 2024 to 2025.
What is the recipe for Coben’s success? The adaptations fall into the one-off limited series bucket that has been working for Netflix — just look at murder mystery “His & Hers” (which isn’t from Coben) taking the top spot on the TV data dump — as the streamer struggles to retain viewers between seasons of its ongoing shows. Beyond the allure of limited series for a weekend binge, the collection of thriller series has become a sure bet both for viewers and for Netflix, almost entirely due to Coben’s name, creating an algorithm feedback loop for audiences to discover the Coben catalogue, which includes over a dozen shows.
What’s all the more impressive is that the series climbed atop Netflix’s viewership charts with little to no marketing when compared to shows like “One Piece” or “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” which the streamer has positioned as its next generation of tentpole series.
Being a sure thing is worth a lot for Netflix, given that it’s a shot in the dark to guess which twisty limited series might break through. Just look at Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys-led “The Beast in Me,” which scored Emmys nods but didn’t make nearly as much ratings noise.
With 13 adaptations on Netflix and more on the way, Coben has become his own brand for Netflix, according to former Universal and Warner Bros. exec Paul Hardart. It’s not that viewers are eagerly waiting for the adaptation of their favorite book of his, but that the author’s name on a show guarantees an action-packed ride and satisfying payoff that viewers have experienced time and time again.
As Hardart puts it: “Netflix doesn’t always need to create awareness from scratch.”
“Once a creator like Harlan Coben has delivered multiple hits, each new series can benefit from the years of accumulated audience fandom and recommendation data,” Hardart told TheWrap via email, noting that Netflix’s “recommendation engine” introduces Coben shows to those predisposed to enjoy them. “This allows for strong engagement (and awareness) as a proxy of heavy marketing to build awareness. In some ways, Coben and the limited series format have become the brand. Fans know it, liked the format … and thus are tuning at rates more than the second series of other popular shows. “
While nearly every title makes a ratings splash within a couple weeks of its release, the only Coben show to reach Netflix’s top 10 TV of all time list was “Fool Me Once.” That list is largely reserved for the likes of “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Bridgerton” as well as massive limited series like “Adolescence” and “Dahmer: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.”
The top 10 most popular of all time list seems relatively untouchable for new entrants, minus breakthroughs for “Wednesday” Season 2, “Adolescence” and “His & Hers,” signifying an era of Netflix that saw the streamer thrive on longrunning tentpole shows. While Coben might not bring in “Stranger Things”-level ratings, the series are guaranteeing a consistent flow of viewership for the streamer.
Coben’s series are also continuing Netflix’s dominance across the streaming landscape, with “I Will Find You” debuting as the top streaming series for the week of June 15 with 1.84 billion viewing minutes, ahead of Peacock dating show phenomenon “Love Island USA.” So it makes sense the streamer renewed its creative partnership and overall deal this year with Coben to bring a new adaptation of “The Woods,” set to receive the limited series treatment next. He is also executive producing an adaptation of Emily Giffin’s novel “All We Ever Wanted” alongside Reese Witherspoon.
Next up however, Netflix will see if Coben’s brand is strong enough to lure viewers back in between seasons as it embarks on adapting the author’s Myron Bolitar series, which centers on the protagonist of “Deal Breaker” as well as 12 of Coben’s other novels.
Could Coben end the streamer’s perpetual sophomore slump?
World Cup wrap-up
The World Cup ended with a ratings bang with the final match between Spain and Argentina bringing in over 62 million viewers across Fox, Telemundo and Peacock, capping off a record-breaking tournament.
The 2026 tournament stands as the most-watched FIFA World Cup in U.S. history with English-language coverage on Fox averaging 7.7 million viewers across 104 matches on Fox, FS1 and Tubi, as well as the most-watched FIFA World Cup tournament in Spanish-language media history with an average viewership of 6.3 million across the 104 matches across Telemundo and Peacock.
It also became YouTube’s most-viewed FIFA World Cup in history, with 1.7 billion unique viewers globally tuning to videos related to the FIFA World Cup — a broad category that includes any content related to the tournament.
“Dancing With the Stars” spinoff starts strong
“Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro,” the spinoff of the beloved competition series, made a ratings splash as ABC’s strongest summer series debut across genres in six years.
Hosted by Season 34 winner Robert Irwin, “The Next Pro” debuted to 5.33 million viewers and a 0.86 rating in the 18-49 demo after three days of viewing on ABC, Disney+, Hulu and digital platforms. On ABC alone, “The Next Pro” scored 4.42 million viewers and a 0.47 demo rating, standing as the No. 1 program of the night.
CBS series dominated in delayed viewing
Nielsen 35-day multiplatform ratings data for the 2025-26 broadcast season landed, and CBS series continued to dominate. “Yellowstone” spinoff “Marshals” stands atop the most-watched shows of the season with 19.3 million average viewers, with “Tracker” coming in second place with 16.3 million viewers. ABC’s “High Potential” took the No. 3 spot, and “Matlock” and “Sheriff Country” took the rest of the top five spots.
CBS was also home to the No. 1 comedy, “Ghosts,” the No. 1 news program, “60 Minutes,” as well as the top four new series, “Marshals,” “Sheriff Country,” “Boston Blue” and “CIA.”
ICYMI:
- “Little House on the Prairie” settled as Netflix’s No. 1 TV show in its second week, besting the debut of Will Ferrell’s “The Hawk.”
- “The Five Star Weekend” scored an impressive debut, landing as Peacock’s top scripted series to date.
- Netflix dropped its semi-annual engagement report on Thursday. Check out our insights for what worked and what didn’t for the first half of the year here.
