Why Netflix filmed US-based Fool Me Once in the North West

By Laura O'Neill & Monica RimmerBBC News

Murder mystery thriller Fool Me Once has become one of Netflix's most-watched dramas, earning more than 153 million streams and northern viewers have been delighted to see famous spots from the region on the show.

The series, based on the novel by Harlan Coben, is the sixth one to be picked up by the streaming giant.

Safe, The Stranger, Stay Close and Fool Me Once are all based in the North West, however the novels they are adapted from are set in Coben's home state, New Jersey.

The show's executive producer Richard Fee, from Quay Street Productions, said the region was a natural choice for filming because of the "wealth" of locations available.

"In order to make the series relevant to a global audience we did not want to define the location, so we put together our own geography which was really fun," he said.

"We chose to build that geography using locations in the North West because we feel that it offers a lot of wealth of really brilliant locations, from the city centre of Manchester to stately homes."

Speaking with BBC Radio 2 earlier in January, Michelle Keegan who plays Maya Stern in the drama, said it was "surreal" to be filming in places she once worked.

"Harlan has a contract with Netflix for it to be in the UK but it looks gorgeous though, it looks stunning," she said

The Stockport native said: "Some of the locations we actually filmed in during the show, like Manchester Airport, I worked in Manchester Airport so that was really surreal.

"Joanna Lumley's house, which is called Arley Hall, I take my dogs walking there when I'm up in Manchester, I've been going there for years. Now I'm just rocking up filming there.

"It's just very surreal."

Fan favourite location Arley Hall, in Cheshire, is the grand mansion house where some of the most dramatic scenes in Fool Me Once take place, which many viewers recognised from Peaky Blinders and Coronation Street.

Bridget Roberts, the hall's general manager, said visitors were delighted to get a look behind the scenes during filming.

"One of the things I think the producers liked about filming here is that they could do lots of different scenes while they were here," she said.

"So you've got film crew in the house and then you turn round and they're all in the chapel and then they're driving down the drive.

"But it didn't disturb us too much they were very respectful of where they were and a lot of visitors like watching it from the background and seeing how it all works."

Mr Fee said moving the story this side of the Atlantic was not the only challenge they faced when adapting the series from the novels.

He said a lot of the stories "take place in suburbia so it's easy to replicate the sense of community in the UK", but the "real challenge" was replicating the distance the characters in the book travel.

"In the US they can travel thousands of miles for the story, but obviously that isn't the case here," he said.

"That is why we like to set them in a fictional place, so we can create our own geography which can sell the idea that the characters are travelling long distances.

"For example, we use the Runcorn bridge to create a sense of journey when Michelle Keegan's character leaves Manchester."

He added: "The other thing is guns, which obviously aren't available in the UK in the same way they are in the US. We have to find ways around that."

Where else in the region has featured?

• Fool Me Once (2024) - Manchester, Oldham, Cheshire, Stockport, Bolton, Bramhall, Barton, Delamere Forest
• Stay Close (2022) - Manchester, Blackpool, Prescot, Lancashire, Runcorn's Silver Jubilee Bridge, St Helens, Morecambe and Formby
• The Stranger (2020) - Manchester, Stockport, Bury and Bolton
• Safe (2018) - Manchester, Liverpool and Cheshire

Source: IMDB

Mr Fee said fans enjoyed spotting repeated locations in the "Harlan Coben Universe" so they kept that in mind when scouting locations.

"The sports club that we used in The Stranger was used again in Fool Me Once. When we were considering it the priority was whether it was the best choice for the scene.

"We also worried that it would be weird for the audience if we returned to the same location twice in the Harlan Universe," he added.

"But actually, the chatter online shows that the audience find it fun and an enjoyable part of watching the series."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, X, and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o67CZ5qopV%2Bjsri%2Fjq6iZp2enLmiusNmpJqmk52ytMDEq2Rvb2lrfXF9kg%3D%3D