Exclusive| Lazarus creator Harlan Coben says he wants to set a TV show in India
In an exclusive chat with us, writer-creator Harlan Coben talks about his show Lazarus, difference between writing a book and a show, and his love for India
Writer-creator Harlan Coben is known for his renowned work in the mystery-suspense-thriller genre. Many of his books including Tell No One, No Second Chance and Just One Look have been adapted for the screen as TV series. Recently, he created the show Lazarus directly for the screens, and he says it’s important for him to separate the author in him when writing for a show.
“The novel writing and the TV writing, I keep completely separate. I'm fighting when I'm writing a novel, making sure that I'm not thinking about adapting because that is the kiss of death. If you're a novelist and you want to write thinking this would be a great TV series, that's the kiss of death. You make the changes when you're writing one or the other. But don't do that while you're writing one. When I was writing Lazarus, I did not think this would make a great book. I just worried about how good it was going to be on the screen. And when I'm writing the novels, I'm just thinking how good it's going to be on the page,” he says.
While Lazarus is currently streaming on Prime Video, Harlan Coben admits to his fascination with India and its history, and even reveals his future plan that connects to the country. “I actually plan on setting one of my works here. I have a great affection for the country, because it has a lot of variations there. I can't say anything yet but I'm working with a team and trying to set one of my books or one of my TV series in India. I hope that's very soon in the future.”
Continuing to talk about his love for India, Harlan shares, “I've been to India and it's fascinating, the history there and the stories. You guys tell the best stories. It’s truly an incredibly rich tradition of storytelling of all sorts there. It's why I want to become part of it. I want to team up with some of your best and create something where we can combine our talents. That would be a dream.”
Lazarus stars Bill Nighy, Sam Claflin and Alexandra Roach, and for Harlan, it was “the dream cast” to have on board. “It was fascinating to get such a dream cast. This is the first time that while I was writing the story, in my head and my vision, I had Bill Nighy. I never thought I'd get him but I had this vision where I saw Dr. Lazarus as Bill Nighy from day one. And then when he right away agreed to do it, and was so involved into the project, it really made everything else come together. And then to get Sam Claflin and Alexandra Roach and the rest of the people that we got, it was heaven,” he ends.
