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If you're a fan of thrillers, Netflix has no shortage of options, especially with its selection of Harlan Coben adaptations. Coben, known for his suspenseful novels, has become a popular name in the streaming world with many of his books turned into Netflix shows. However, not all of them live up to the hype.

As of right now, there are 10 television series adaptations and one original series of his currently streaming on Netflix. They are Safe, Stay Close, The Innocent, The Stranger, Gone for Good, The Woods, Hold Tight, Missing You, Caught, Fool Me Once and Just One Look. While each of these series has its share of twists and surprises, not all of them succeed in maintaining your interest or keeping the momentum strong throughout. Some may leave you hooked for a few episodes, only to disappoint with predictable plotlines, pacing issues, underdeveloped characters, or unsatisfying conclusions.

We would...

Exclusive: Polish drama Śleboda has become SkyShowtime’s best performing scripted series ever in the country.

The SVOD service gets a stream of big-ticket U.S. series from parent companies Comcast and Paramount, meaning the local original has faced off against juggernaut shows such as Yellowstone.

Śleboda, however, sits atop its viewing charts. Filmed in Poland, the series is SkyShowtime’s first original commission.

The streamer shared some topline stats with Deadline that reveal over half of its Polish subs have watched the series since its launch on December 12. Of those that tuned into the first episode, 90% watched subsequent instalments.

In Poland, the six-part series wraps today, January 9. In the wake of the success on home turf, SkyShowtime is rolling out the series across its footprint — meaning its services in Northern Europe, Iberia and the rest of Central & Eastern Europe, starting February 20.

Śleboda is an adaptation of the first instalment...

Director Michal Gazda’s latest venture, Justice, is a zero-risk, copybook crime thriller that treads a recognizable, worn-out path of troubled investigators engaging in a cat and mouse game with socially downtrodden criminals and, in the process, acting as the state’s mechanism that maintains the existing status quo. The fact that the movie follows a pretty basic set-up and events play out in exactly the way anyone would have guessed might sound bland on paper, but it actually ends up being pretty entertaining as a period piece with 90s Poland as the backdrop. Not every thriller needs to be an out-of-the box cerebral exercise; the audience can choose to enjoy simple things they tend to miss in more complex narratives. To compensate for the lack of intrigue, Justice boasts a cinematography that simultaneously captures the beauty of the Polish landscape, the rising urbanization of Warsaw in the contemporary era,...

“Justice” (Original title: Napad) is a 2024 film directed by Michal Gazda. The film stars Olaf Lubaszenko as Tadeusz Gadacz, Jedrzej Hycnar as Kacper Surmiak, Wiktoria Gorodecka as Aleksandra Janicka, Magdalena Boczarska as Prokuratorka, Stanislaw Linowski as Marek Nowak, Lukasz Szczepanowski as Bartek Sawczuk, and more. “Justice” follows the story of Tadeusz Gadacz, who is pulled out of retirement to solve a bank heist that resulted in the death of three women.

Justice Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis: Why Does Gadacz Agree to Return to the Police Force?

A bank robbery gone sideways leaves several women dead—women who were just there early to surprise their friend working the night shift. In the early hours of the morning, before the bank opened, a robber hijacked the place, and now the case is all over the news, creating a media frenzy. With an election right around the corner, city officials are scrambling to...

Regardless of the country it’s originating from, the best crime thrillers can enthrall audiences all over the world with the specific details of the felony as well as their general observations about the evolution of society. For example, there’s The Killers of the Flower Moon, which is hyper-focused on the atrocities committed against the Osage Indians by White Americans. But given how the oppression of indigenous folk by settlers is a worldwide phenomenon, the film has resonated with all kinds of viewers. In stark contrast to that, the worst crime thrillers, no matter which film industry they’re coming from, can irritate and annoy moviegoers everywhere with their unique as well as universal message. A great example of that is Raktabeej, which is so horrible that I’d need a whole different article to list down its flaws. Now, while I always have a lot to talk about...

“Justice” is a Polish movie directed by Michal Gazda starring Olaf Lubaszenko and Jedrzej Hycnar.

“Justice” is a Polish thriller that caters to aficionados of traditional crime dramas: a heist, multiple murders, and the ensuing investigation. The film presents well-crafted characters with rich backgrounds and distinct personalities, all under the lingering shadow of Poland’s communist past. It is an engaging thriller, competently directed and well-acted, adhering strictly to the conventions of the genre. While it may not surprise in this regard, it does stand out in its screenplay and character development. Here, there are no purely good or evil individuals; instead, it offers a human story that comprehensively explores both sides of the narrative.

Don’t expect high-speed chases or grand action sequences. Instead, anticipate well-developed characters and a consistently coherent storyline in a thriller that entertains without excelling in visual spectacle.

As many are aware, Netflix has taken...

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has selected eight emerging actors from the Baltic Sea region for its Black Nights Stars showcase, including rising stars from Poland, Estonia and Germany.

The group includes US-born German actor Zethphan Smith-Gneist, who appeared in a pivotal single-shot scene in Todd Fields’ TÁR opposite Cate Blanchett, and played his first leading role in an episode of German TV series Zeit Verbrechen, which debuted at this year’s Berlinale.

Selected from Poland is Maria Kowalska, whose breakthrough role came in Michal Gazda’s adaptation of cult Polish novel Forgotten Love for Netflix, and who stars in...

"You got one week. Then they'll kill the case." Netflix has revealed the full official trailer for the Polish crime thriller film titled Justice (or Napad in Polish), arriving for streaming in October this fall. It's a new film from the duo of director Michał Gazda and producer Magdalena Szwedkowicz - the team behind last year's success of Forgotten Love also on Netflix to watch. Set at the beginning of the 90s (after the communist era ended), a discharged police officer is given a chance to reclaim his old life in exchange for capturing a group responsible for a ruthless bank robbery. The detective must act quickly, as media attention could complicate matters for the new government. Starring Olaf Lubaszenko as the cop, with Jedrzej Hycnar, Wiktoria Gorodecka, and Magdalena Boczarska. This seems like a true crime story from Poland's history, but it also doesn't seem to be based any real case.

Netflix is as interested in acquiring third-party titles as it is in producing original films, said Larry Tanz, Netflix VP of content for Emea.

Tanz underlined the importance of films to the streamer on a visit to Netflix’s European production hub in Tres Cantos on the outskirts of Madrid.

“What we care about is bringing the best films and series to our members,” said Tanz. “If it’s a huge film from Constantin that’s in theatres and then on Netflix, if our members love it, that’s great. If it’s something that we commission, that’s great as well.

Netflix has unveiled nine new movies and series from Poland including the directorial debut of High Water writer Kasper Bajon and a thriller from the team behind Forgotten Love.

As the streamer continues to unveil international originals by the bucket load, Project UFO leads the Poland slate, a mini-series helmed by Bajon that will transport fans of stories inspired by real events to the 1980s in order to investigate the alleged UFO landing in a remote countryside village.

Bajon wrote the popular High Water series, one of the biggest to come from Netflix Poland, about the 1997 Central European flood and how it was managed by the authorities of the Polish city of Wrocław.

Meanwhile, Michał Gazda (director) and Magdalena Szwedkowicz (producer), the team behind last year’s Netflix Poland movie Forgotten Love, are re-teaming on a movie following a retired policeman trying to bring to justice to those behind a ruthless bank robbery case,...

Michal Gazda’s Forgotten Love (Zanchor in the original Polish language) had a lot going against it. The novel, which is also called Zanchor,”on which Gazda’s Netflix film is based, has already been adapted twice before: once back in 1937, the same year the book was released, and then in 1985. The 1985 adaptation, The Quack, was helmed by acclaimed Polish director Jerry Hoffman. I saw the widely appreciated film years ago, and as I went into the new film not knowing this, it took me a while to figure out that this one also happens to follow the same story. The interesting thing is, I soon forgot about that and didn’t even know how two and a half hours passed by.

In this day and age, a runtime of more than two hours is actually quite a big deal, unless it is a superhero/franchise film or something like Oppenheimer.