Viewers have been reacting to the new drama series starring Michelle Keegan and Joanna Lumley that’s just landed on Netflix.
In case you hadn’t heard, the highly-anticipated new crime drama show – which is titled Fool Me Once – is an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s popular novel, and has kicked 2024 off to a cracking start after hitting the streaming service only a few days ago on New Year’s Day.
After the first-look pictures were teased back in early December, fans were already sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for it to drop, and then the release of the initial trailer a few weeks after that only went further to prove it was gearing up to be brilliantly binge-worthy.
And it seems like those gut instincts were correct, as after merely a couple of days of being released to the world, Fool Me Once has shot right to the top of the Netflix charts.
That’s right, it’s currently sitting pretty as the ‘number one’ show to watch on the platform.
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Those who’ve had the chance to sit back and watch the show this week have been taking to social media in their thousands to share their reactions to the new series and heap praise on its talented cast and creators – with many calling it “brilliant” and a “10/10 show”.
‘Fool Me Once’ stars Michelle Keegan and is based on a novel by Harlan Coben / Credit: Netflix UK
“Fool Me Once, first binge watch of the year,” one viewer wrote in reaction on X, “an amazing limited series, was at the edge of my seat all day. All the suspense, twists and that ending though…”
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Another view wrote: “I did not expect to end Fool Me Once in floods of tears, but that was BRILLIANT”, while a third added: “Just finished Fool Me Once on Netflix, brilliant show with an awesome ending. Harlan Coben sure knows how to knock it out the park”.
A fourth commented: “Brilliant watch. Michelle Keegan was incredible. Harlan Coben did it again.”
“Fool Me Once, what a series. Binged them all today. A must watch,” another impressed viewer wrote in reaction on X.
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I swear #FoolMeOnce on Netflix is the best thing I’ve seen in a long time, if you’ve not watched it yet then I highly recommend you do so.
Reckon you might fancy giving the series a watch now then?
But not so sure what it’s all about? Well, the eight-part series follows Manchester-born actress Michelle Keegan’s character, Maya Starn, who is a former special ops pilot struggling with the tragic murder of her husband, Joe, who is played by Richard Armitage.
Detective Sergeant Sami Kierce, who is portrayed by Adeel Akhtar, conducts the investigation into Joe’s death while wrestling with his own hidden truths. Things start to get interesting though, when she observes via the nanny cam her supposedly deceased husband playing with their baby daughter in her own home.
Meanwhile, Maya’s niece and nephew embark on the journey to seek answers about their own mother’s murder which took place months ago. But one question remains – could the two mysteries be related?
You can watch the trailer in full here.
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Filming took place in Yorkshire, where production crews were spotted in the Burdock Way area near the centre of Halifax, but Michelle Keegan was also spotted filming in Manchester city centre back in May.
Fool Me Once is currently airing on Netflix in the UK and Ireland, and all across the world.
Featured Image – Netflix
TV & Showbiz
Manchester streets transformed into London as huge film set descends on town
Daisy Jackson
The streets of Manchester have been transformed by a huge film set this week, with street signs and posters subtly transforming the city centre into London.
The area surrounding Spring Gardens is at the heart of the filming, with scenes being shot in the dead of night this week.
Film crews are working on a new Channel 4 thriller from the creators behind hit shows like Top Boy, Mobland, and The Day Of The Jackal.
Army of Shadows will star major names like Kit Harrington, Paddy Considine, and Olivia Colman, along with Susan Sarandon, America Ferrera, and Alex Hassell.
While filming is mostly taking place after dark, traces of the film sets have been left in Manchester today – including red phone boxes, Greater London Police signs, and posters of a fictitious resistance movement.
And there are several road closures in place, including Chancery Place, Chancery Lane, Brown Street, Booth Street, Kennedy Street, and parts of Tib Lane and Clarence Street.
In a note shared to local residents and businesses, StudioCanal said the scenes being filmed in Manchester involve ‘a group of people running through the streets putting up posters on properties’.
Fake posters in ManchesterThe film set includes Greater London Police signsFake posters in ManchesterProp bikes in Manchester as a huge film set appears
According to Channel 4, the new drama is inspired by Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1969 film and Joseph Kessel’s seminal book of the same name, which dramatised the emergence of the French Resistance to the Nazi Occupation of France during World War 2.
Army of Shadows is a ‘bold new story’ from Ronan Bennett of how resistance takes shape in an occupied Great Britain.
The show summary says: “Britain looks almost normal, but the flags are different, the news is careful, and nobody says certain things out loud anymore. But everyone can feel it. Somewhere beneath the surface of ordinary life something has gone terribly, quietly wrong.
“Out of the shadows emerges a former soldier known only as Berry, who starts building a secret resistance network. He knows one thing above all else: don’t act before you’re ready.
“An unlikely group starts to coalesce around him – people who’ve decided they can’t look away any longer: a soldier, a student, a radiographer, a journalist. Ordinary people, with ordinary lives, making an extraordinary and irreversible choice.
“Against them: a state with unlimited reach, a ruthless minister who’ll do whatever it takes to maintain “order”, and an American intelligence operative called Jessie, who is very, very good at her job.”
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’
Emily Sergeant
Call yourself a clever clogs? The BBC is currently looking for contestants to take part in what is widely considered the hardest quiz show on TV.
That’s right – Only Connect is back for another series on BBC Two.
Presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell and first broadcast all the way back in 2008, Only Connect takes TV quizzing to the next level, as it sees two teams compete against each other by finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues.
In this quiz show – which viewers have dubbed one of the most challenging there is – knowledge only takes you so far, as the ability to think laterally is also deemed ‘vitally important’.
A casting call for the upcoming 2027 series has been shared on the BBC website, with people from Greater Manchester encouraged to apply.
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’ / Credit: BBC
The casting call reads: “The popular BBC Two quiz show presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell returns for a new series in 2027.
“Only Connect is seeking teams of three players OR single applicants or teams of two looking for like-minded teammates to pool their combined wits to solve fiendish conundrums and vexing puzzles.
“This is the quiz series where, as in life itself, knowledge will only take you so far: patience and lateral thinking are also vital. It’s all about making connections between things which may appear, at first glance, not to be connected at all.”
Reckon you’ve got what it takes then? Applications are now open, and all applicants must be aged 18 or over and a resident in the UK or Channel Islands.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd January 2024 
