Netflix’s The Stranger has become incredibly popular on the streaming service and is actually an adaptation of a novel. The book, written by Harlan Coben was released in 2015 and because of its success and the fact it was a gripping story, Netflix opted to make it into a television show. However, as with all adaptations of a book, changes were inevitable and Netflix’s The Stranger has plenty of them. Whether it be certain plot points, how different characters look or the location of things, there were many tweaks and alterations on the show.
However, unlike a lot of authors, Harlan Coben actually encouraged those changes to take place. He didn’t want the show and the book to be identical as he felt that was pointless, which allowed the show to have some creativity. Here are 10 of the changes that Netflix made to the characters from the novel.
The Stranger
One of the biggest and most glaringly obvious changes that Netflix’s adaptation made was the gender of the stranger itself. In the book, the stranger is revealed to be a man named Chris Taylor, yet in the Netflix show, the decision was made to make the character a woman.
Played by Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp), the decision was made to just keep things fresh. The characters themselves were kept almost identical in their actions and why they do what they do, but the gender was changed.
Location
Another way that the characters were changed involves Adam Price, whose character narrative was based on Richard Armitage himself. He didn’t actually have to audition for the role, as Harlan Corben selected him for the part due to what he had seen from him in the past.
Armitage told BT.com that when he was working out how to play the character he recorded things about his own life which the writers found useful. Because of that, they added elements of his life into the character in order to give him more depth.
Guns
Throughout Netflix’s version of The Stranger, there are a few guns present. This leads to the death of some characters and the weapon does play a key role. However, if you read the novel, you will notice that guns are used far more commonly.
Because Netflix made the decision to film the show in England, they had to scale things back on the gun front to make sure it was as realistic as possible. Guns are much harder to come by in England due to the laws and restrictions, therefore the show was smart enough to acknowledge that and not have the weapon appear too much, which changed things slightly for some characters.
Soccer
Another of the big changes that was forced due to the change in location was the sport that the family is involved in. Within the book, they’re wrapped up in a lacrosse club, which makes sense, however, that sport isn’t played very commonly in the UK.
Because of that, the decision was made to switch things to soccer as that is the number one sport in England and is something that would make more sense to the narrative of the story. It’s not a major change and it doesn’t impact things outside of the characters playing something else, but it was a wise move for continuity reasons.
DC Wesley Ross
Another alteration that Netflix made for the show wasn’t actually a case of them taking anything away, but actually adding. The character of DC Wesley Ross was a popular one from the show, but he was added specifically for Netflix and isn’t part of the novel.
This was done to give Griffin someone else to play-off and have some comedic moments with earlier on in the show, adding a little light relief. The decision to add him was a smart idea as he certainly brought some comedy and heart to the show.
Ed Price
DC Wesley Ross wasn’t the only character that was added to the show on Netflix. Adam’s estranged father, Ed Price isn’t actually part of the book. While he is mentioned, he actually dies of a heart attack when Adam is a teenager, therefore he’s not an important character.
That is the complete opposite for in the show, where he does play quite an important role. He ends up being Chris’ biological father and Netflix does a brilliant job of interweaving everything together to make this character a key figure.
Characters Removed
While Netflix added several important characters to the show, they also removed some. In the book, Chris teams up with four different people to execute his activities, they are Eduardo, Merton, Ingrid, and Gabrielle. However, on Netflix, Chris only has one accomplice.
Netflix did give a nod to two of those novel characters though as her partner was called Ingrid, she also went by the name of Gabrielle as an alias. This was a clear way of paying tribute to the novel, which is great for fans of the book.
Olivia’s Illness
There were quite a lot of changes made to the storyline involving Patrick Katz in Netflix’s adaptation, with the first being his name. This wasn’t a big change but he was known as John Kuntz in the novel. The major change came with his children, as in the novel he had three sons, but in the show, he just has one daughter.
Within the novel, one of Katz’s sons suffers from bone cancer, which leads him down the criminal path to pay the hospital bills. However, on the Netflix show, Olivia is doing poorly because her mother poisons her to make her sick.
Tripps’ Death
The major reveal regarding Corrine is the same in both the book and the show. Tripp is responsible for killing her and burying her in the forest and he gets confronted, and then killed by Adam. However, this is where things begin to change slightly.
In the show, Griffin and Adam frame Katz for the death of both Tripp and Corrine to save Adam from prison and to keep him with his family. Nobody finds out the truth, but in the book, Adam admits to murdering Tripp, but he claims it is self-defense and Griffin helps him falsify DNA to back that up.
The Final Moment
The closing moment of The Stranger is slightly different in both as well. In the novel, Chris simply vanishes and nothing is heard of the stranger ever again. However, in Netflix’s show, Chris actually re-appears, popping up at a football match to keep an eye on her family.
While she doesn’t introduce herself and then does end up disappearing, she is clearly still around and is committed to watching over her family. It’s not a huge change, but this was likely just Netflix teasing the possibility of a second season one day.
