Jo Nesbø isn't the next 'Harlan Coben of Netflix' according to the crime writer himself — and he's 'not even thought about' Detective Hole season 2

Author Jo Nesbø might have sold up to 80 million copies of his best-selling books worldwide, but the new TV show Detective Hole marks his first foray onto Netflix. You might remember movies such as Headhunter and The Snowman based on his work, but Nesbø wasn't actually involved creatively... and it feels like the less said about them, the better.

This time around, Nesbø is the showrunner for his nine-episode strong Netflix series, based on the fifth Harry Hole book, The Devil's Star. In fact, it's got the official rebrand of Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole, which is something we've seen on the streamer before.

Of course, I'm thinking of fellow crime writing giant Harlan Coben, whose name has been dropped before so many of his book-to-TV adaptations on Netflix, there's an entire collection of them you can peruse on your profile. Coben is the showrunner on all of them, and each has so far been a colossal banger — from Fool Me Once to the explosive Run Away, which only debuted in January.

Surely it then makes sense that Nesbø will follow the same path, curating a collection of stories on the small screen that he creatively controls. But when I ask him about it, not only does he not seem bothered by what the future holds, but he has "no plans" for it either.

'This is about Harry as a character — his life and his destiny'

Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

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"I haven't really thought about that," Nesbø tells me as I ask him about his potential Netflix legacy and Detective Hole season 2. He might not be that bothered, but to me, the series seems like an obvious springboard for more adaptations.

Why? Not only do global audiences lap up crime dramas like they're crumbs on a plate, but Nesbø's series has had a clever title change. Instead of the very specific The Devil's Star — following the fifth Harry Hole installment that the show is based on — it's been broadened to just Detective Hole.

Surely there is scope for more Harry Hole stories to be developed under the Detective Hole name, then?

"I think the idea was that this is a story because it's also a recap of the two previous novels, Nemesis and The Redbreast," he tells me about the name change. "That was one reason. But I think that it's more that it's the novel where Harry — having been behind the camera in the previous novels and being the reader's eye into the mystery — is now stepping in front of the camera. He's becoming the center of attention.

"It's not only about the murder mystery. It's about Harry as a character, Harry's life, and Harry's destiny."

Well, there goes my plan to mastermind a Jo Nesbø Netflix collection to sit alongside Harlan Coben's. But hey... never say never.

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