Netflix’s New #1 Thriller Beating Stranger Things Highlights A Major Streaming Trend

Although Netflix’s latest Harlan Coben thriller adaptation, Run Away, might not be perfect, the show’s success does prove that even Stranger Things can’t stand in the way of one streaming trend. The arrival of the Stranger Things finale earned all manner of fan feedback, with some reactions proving more predictable than others.

Some viewers ardently defended every creative decision made in the finale, while others were so disappointed that they began to theorize about a secret, second do-over finale that would soon be released by Netflix. The entire ConformityGate controversy proved that not everyone was happy with the ending of Stranger Things, even if it was one of the biggest television events of all time.

However, one of the most surprising parts of the finale’s release had very little to do with Stranger Things itself and everything to do with the streaming service that released the show. Netflix put millions of dollars into the final season of the series, spending record-breaking amounts on both the budget of season 5 and on promoting its release.

Harlan Coben’s Run Away Is Another Number One Thriller Novel Adaptation For Netflix

As such, it is fairly staggering to learn that Stranger Things season 5’s finale was dethroned from the Netflix top spot in only four days by the Harlan Coben adaptation Run Away. Based on the novel of the same name by the legendary thriller author, Run Away sees James Nesbitt’s Simon search for his estranged daughter Paige.

After Simon assaults Paige’s boyfriend, Aaron, and Aaron later turns up dead, Paige’s father becomes suspect number one in his murder. With his wife, Ingrid, in a coma, Simon must find out where Paige is and clear his name by discovering the identity of Aaron’s real killer. Coben’s typically twisty thriller earned mixed reviews upon release.

However, this clearly wasn’t a deterrent for fans of the streaming service, who made Run Away Netflix’s number one show only days after Stranger Things was released. Run Away’s twist ending aside, the show didn’t offer anything that couldn’t also be found in many earlier Netflix thriller novel adaptations.

However, this was the main takeaway from the surprising success of the series. It seems that thriller book adaptations dominate the streamer’s output, with Netflix’s most popular new shows often fitting this description. From 2025’s The Hunting Wives to Run Away, Netflix keeps winning big by betting on adaptations of pulpy thriller novels.

Thriller Books Provided Netflix With Some of 2024 and 2025’s Biggest Hits

This is exciting news for Netflix, since thriller adaptations are cheaper to produce than some of the streaming service’s biggest shows. Although shows like Squid Game, Stranger Things, and Wednesday are among Netflix’s most reliably popular titles, these shows all come with high price tags.

It is expensive to produce and promote shows like Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Squid Game, thanks to their genre storylines requiring heavy CGI and their large casts, including some major A-list stars. In contrast, a thriller novel adaptation can be much smaller in scale and much more modest in its storytelling.

Although The Hunting Wives was a massive hit for Netflix in 2025, the show's budget was only a fraction of what Stranger Things season 5 cost the streaming service. Similarly, You’s five seasons were all popular with viewers, but the adventures of Joe Goldberg came with a much lower price tag than other mega hits like Bridgerton or Wednesday.

Admittedly, this approach doesn’t always pay off for the streaming service. However, in recent years, Netflix has proven that it can reliably count on thriller adaptations to excel with viewers. From The Hunting Wives and the earlier Coben adaptation Fool Me Once, which remains one of the streaming service’s most-watched titles ever, to The Stranger, Netflix viewers love thriller adaptations.

Run Away Is Only The Start Of Netflix's Promising Thriller Adaptations In 2026

Fortunately for fans of Run Away, this is just the start of Netflix’s promising 2026 slate of thriller novel adaptations. The streaming service has come a long way from the era when Mindhunter was canceled due to costing too much money, as psychological thrillers are now Netflix’s bread and butter.

The Ira Levin adaptation The Boys from Brazil is set to reimagine the classic novel with a more modern twist, while the Liz Moore adaptation The God of the Woods tells a spellbinding story of one small-town family’s breakdown after the disappearance of their daughter. Meanwhile, How To Kill Your Family will bring author Bella Mackie’s debut novel to life.

That book’s adaptation stars Anya Taylor-Joy, who already took the lead role in one of the streaming service’s most successful earlier shows, The Queen’s Gambit. Similarly, The God of the Woods will bring back a producer and writer from Mindhunter to ensure the series features the same blend of unpredictable thrills and thoughtful character drama as that cult hit.

Meanwhile, the psychological thriller Out of the Dust will focus on a conservative religious cult much like Run Away, although this British thriller isn’t adapted from an existing novel. Still, if Run Away’s defeat of Stranger Things proves anything, it is that the future is bright for Netflix’s future slate of thriller novel adaptations.