Harlan Coben's Lazarus inspired by creator's 'traumatic' personal loss

Lazarus is poised to be an unmissable thriller with author Harlan Coben revealing how his personal experiences shaped the Prime Video series.

Following the death of his father Dr Jonathan Lazarus (portrayed by Bill Nighy), forensic psychiatrist Joel Lazarus (Sam Claflin) begins encountering victims from cold case murders spanning over two decades.

Joel subsequently starts investigating these unsolved killings as he uncovers connections to both his father's demise and his sister's murder during their teenage years.

Whilst the Prime Video series possesses supernatural elements, author Harlan Coben has revealed that the genuine experience of bereavement initially sparked the creation of Lazarus.

Coben's father sadly passed away from a heart attack in 1988, merely six days following his 60th birthday, with the writer having previously characterised it as the "most traumatic" experience of his existence.

Speaking to Screen Time, Coben revealed: "I lost my father at a fairly young age and I deal with this in a lot of stories but this one mostly directly I think.

"You have a hope when you lose somebody of one day seeing them again, one day hugging them again one day, speaking to them again, and that's what a lot of this story really is for Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy.

"The idea that he can see his father again and that had a lot of appeal."

Coben also discovered his inspiration for Lazarus, which he co-authored with writer Danny Brocklehurst, when he encountered a recognisable building.

Coben revealed: "The initial idea came to me when I was playing tennis and I left and I looked across the street and I saw this psychiatrist's office I'd taken my father-in-law for depression.

"I was thinking all the misery that woman's heard over the years, all the dark secrets, hours, days, weeks, months, years, where do those secrets go?"

"That energy has to be somewhere in the walls and what happens if that energy kind of doesn't [go].

"And we wanted to do other [themes], trauma, grief, all those sorts of things, because we know how to do twists and turns but if you also don't move the heart, it's not going to impact you."

Lazarus premieres on Wednesday, October 22, on Prime Video.