Published Mar 26, 2026, 10:45 PM EDT
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Netflix's latest addition to the crime thriller genre is based on a bestselling book series that previously served as a source material for a flop 7% RT movie. Interestingly, it looks like the show has finally redeemed the books after the failed movie by earning a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
After Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher movies struggled to leave a mark, Prime Video proved the original books' true potential by translating them for the small screen. The small-screen Reacher adaptation has been so successful that it is now hard not to forget the movie adaptations and completely associate Alan Ritchson with the titular detective character. From the looks of it, Netflix's new crime thriller achieves something similar.
It not only seems to set the stage for a compelling long-running crime thriller franchise like Prime Video's Reacher but also proves that some books are better off getting TV adaptations than big-budget movie treatments.
Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole On Netflix Is Based On The Book Series Adapted By 2017’s The Snowman
Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole premiered on Netflix on March 26, 2026. The 10-episode show is based on Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole book series, which consists of over 10 novels that have been worldwide bestsellers. Similar to the Jack Reacher books, this is not the first time Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole novels have been adapted. Before the Netflix show, Hollywood picked the book series for a big screen adaptation.
Titled The Snowman, a 2017 movie adapted Jo Nesbø's novel of the same name. The movie seemed to have immense potential with Michael Fassbender as its lead and stars like Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer, and J. K. Simmons in its roster.
Unfortunately, despite having a stellar cast, the movie was panned by critics and holds a shockingly low Rotten Tomatoes score of 7%. Even at the box office, the film flopped after earning a little over $43 million against a budget of $35 million.
While only time will tell how commercially successful Netflix's take on the crime thriller book series will be, Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole has already earned positive reviews from critics. Like some of Prime Video's successful detective series, the show also makes good use of its long-form storytelling format to deliver a loyal adaptation of its source and covers only one book in its first season.
It may be too soon to predict whether Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole will turn into a full-fledged crime thriller franchise like The Night Agent. However, its season 1 perfectly highlights its source material's immense potential in the genre, highlighting everything that went wrong with the 2017 movie.
Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole Is A Far Better Adaptation Than The Snowman
Image via UniversalJo Nesbø's Detective Hole on Netflix benefits a lot from the fact that the books' original author is its main writer. Adding to that, Tobias Santelmann seems to perfectly fit the role of the titular detective in the series, while Joel Kinnaman brilliantly plays the villain. The 2017 movie, in contrast, struggled to make good use of its talented roster and proved to be a meandering and rushed adaptation of its source material.
Many even criticized the movie for not taking any creative risks and barely rising above the well-worn tropes of the crime thriller genre.
Unlike the movie, the Netflix crime thriller series does everything from bending genres to putting its main character's flaws on full display to instill a sense of novelty in viewers. While it has its own flaws and seems to experience a bit of a slump midway through its runtime, the series perfectly shows the movie how it should have adapted the Jo Nesbø book.
After Prime Video's Reacher, Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole on Netflix is another crime thriller book adaptation that has proven that television might be a far better medium for faithfully translating sprawling source material into gripping, character-driven storytelling that actually has room to breathe.
Hopefully, like Reacher, Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole, too, will get the opportunity to return on Netflix with more installments that could adapt several other Jo Nesbø novels from the Harry Hole series.
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Joe Nesbø's Detective Hole
Release Date March 26, 2026
Network Netflix
Cast
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Tobias Santelmann
Det. Harry Hole
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Joel Kinnaman
Det. Tom Waaler
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English (US) ·