Entertainment
Prime Video’s Chilling 8-Part Series Is the Perfect Weekend Binge for Mystery Fans
In a post-Tell Me Lies world, every relationship should be analyzed for red flags. The same month that the high-anxiety relationship drama ended on Hulu, Prime Video released its own take on the subject. In February, an adaptation of Catherine Ryan Howard’s book, 56 Days, hit the platform. Though the series veers quite substantially from the source material, the heart of the story is still there.
56 Days follows two people who embark on a romance after a chance meeting in a grocery store. Oliver (Avan Jogia) comes from generational wealth while also working at an architecture firm in Boston. Ciara (Dove Cameron), who is new to town, has a working-class background, but the two hit it off immediately after connecting on the subject of outer space. They rush into a sexual relationship, ignoring all the questions they have about each other. Oliver immediately seems suspicious as he takes intense private phone calls that hint at a dark, ulterior motive. Ciara, however, isn’t as innocent as she seems, and eventually it becomes clear that Oliver isn’t the only one harboring secrets.
‘56 Days’ Delivers All the Twists in Its Limited Run
56 Days’ addictive romance is only one part of this compelling thriller. The 56 days in question measure the time that Oliver and Ciara are together before a horrific crime rocks the apartment that they share. Flashforwards show that only a couple of months after the lovers get together, a body is discovered in the apartment. Authorities are shocked to find a partially dissolved body in the bathtub, and work to piece together the timeline that brought the characters to this point.
The flashbacks offer further tension as fans form their own conclusions about the identity of the body in the bathtub. As Ciara and Oliver’s relationship heats up, signs point to one of them being the victim. That being said, 56 Days offers many surprises to keep viewers engaged over the course of eight episodes.
The best part of the series is the increasing feeling of dread as Oliver and Ciara’s relationship progresses. It soon becomes clear that their first meeting was not by chance at all, but something else, darker and more nefarious. It almost becomes a cat-and-mouse game of who can be the most unsettling in this fast-paced relationship. Within minutes of meeting each other, Oliver offers to take Ciara out on a date that escalates quickly. He seemingly lies about their plans and then leads her into a dark alley. Though he does nothing to harm her, this is exceedingly worrying behavior, and Ciara somehow doesn’t seem concerned by it.
Somehow, the audience is encouraged to ignore these warning signs as well and fall under the spell of the narrative. Avan Jogia is captivating as Oliver, who is equal parts charming and disturbing. Jogia walks the line between these two traits well, leaving no question as to what attracts Ciara to Oliver in the first place. His dark allure becomes erratic at times, but ultimately, the vulnerability of the character shines through. This allows fans to suspend their disbelief when it comes to some of the more dramatic portions of the story.
Oliver and Ciara quickly consummate their physical relationship, which leads them to become even more codependent. There is a reason their fast-paced relationship leads to death, but that reason doesn’t become clear until the very end. 56 Days is the type of thriller that is easy to consume and leaves viewers guessing until the last possible moment.
- Release Date
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2026 – 2026-00-00
- Network
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Prime Video
- Directors
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Alethea Jones
- Writers
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Lisa Zwerling, Karyn Usher, Catherine Ryan Howard