Caught (review)

Published by Mason Oldridge, 9 April 2025

CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Argentina is the home of the first Latin America series to adapt a Harlan Coben novel as part of the ongoing Netflix deal.

It follows Ema Garay, a journalist who exposes criminals in a feature called Caught, as she publicly shames Leo Mercer, a local who runs a kids club, as a child abuser, only to discover he may be innocent and have been framed. Elsewhere, teenager Martina goes missing.

Caught is relatively generous with its story progression in comparison to other Coben adaptations. Despite the majority of the series following Ema’s investigation into finding the true culprit, Leo is murdered by Facu in episode two, Martina is revealed to be dead mid-series and we also learn of Fran Briguel’s involvement and Leo and Marcos’ childhood crime prior to the conclusion.

Like most other Coben series, we are provided with a reveal and final twist. Both are satisfactory; the reveal that Marcos was the real perpetrator is interesting as it turned out his motive was money and land rather than sexual gratification and the final twist that Armando killed Martina is surprising as it was initially believed her death was linked to the older man she was talking to. Furthermore, the final minutes deliver an additional twist as Leo is revealed to have survived.

Ema acts as more of a detective than a journalist and puts her life at risk from doing so, though it can be argued she goes above and beyond in an attempt to clear Leo’s name as she was the one who falsely accused him in the first place, which led to his supposed death. However, the side element of Ema’s husband having been killed in a hit-and-run by a drunk driver feels unrelated and unnecessary to the plot.

Overall, Caught provides a strong story with enough development throughout to keep viewers engaged, something not every Coben series has been able to do.

7/10