Prime Video's #3 Hit Is a One-off but Gripping Mystery Thriller Starring Dove Cameron

Prime Video recently released a series that quickly topped the platform's charts. 56 Days is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Irish author Catherine Ryan Howard, which was produced by James Wan.

Here's what makes this series great and why you're unlikely to want to rewatch it after the finale.

What Is '56 Days' About?

A decomposed body was found in a rented apartment in Boston. Detectives Lee and Karl are leading the investigation. Meanwhile, 56 days earlier, we witness a different story – Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket.

Passion flares between them, and they quickly move in together. However, their perfect romance is full of secrets.

As we follow the characters' developing relationships, we also follow the investigation to try to figure out who the victim was and what the couple has to do with it.

'56 Days' Is a Skillful Mix of Genres, but It Loses Its Logic Towards the Finale

The creators retained the book's nonlinear structure, which is the series' main strength. We constantly shift between passionate scenes, sweet everyday moments, and dark scenes of the investigation.

Karla Souza and Dorian Missick excel as well-coordinated detectives, their dialogue and professional conflicts add dimension to the story. Meanwhile, Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia deliver powerful performances in the romance – the explicit sex scenes and emotional outbursts are top-notch.

However, the closer we get to the finale, the more the writers overuse plot twists. At a certain point, the plot twists become unbelievable, breaking the overall logic.

The TV Series Changed the Book Beyond Recognition – and It Didn't Do It Any Good

The novel is set in Dublin, and the plot revolves around the characters moving in together almost immediately after meeting due to the pandemic – this is not the case in the series.

The setting has been moved to Boston, and the pandemic has disappeared. In its place, another important factor has emerged: Oliver's family's vast wealth. In the book, he and Ciara were both middle class.

Here, the writers seem to have used a cheat code, making Oliver incredibly wealthy. This alters the characters' motivations, perceptions of each other, and the course of events.

Fans of the original source material may be surprised by these changes, but the question remains: are they justified? The gripping twists that worked in the book seem strange in the new reality.

56 Days is the perfect example of a TV series you want to binge-watch, but then forget about the next day. It's a captivating, one-time thriller with beautiful actors and a noir atmosphere.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of '56 Days'?

• 56 Days has 62% from critics and 76% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the series has a score of 6.7/10.