56 Days season 1 review: It felt like 56 days passed watching this show

Many murder mysteries start with a body, but 56 Days is more obsessed with bodies than most. 

The series begins with a decomposing corpse that kicks off the entire investigation. It’s disgusting, but that doesn’t stop the camera from lingering over it, presenting the body from every angle.

It’s not until we rewind 56 days into the past, however, that this fixation really begins.

Based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s novel of the same name, Prime Video’s adaptation jumps back and forth between a police investigation in the present and the start of a new relationship that began almost two months prior. 

This version swaps out the COVID-ridden backdrop of Dublin in 2020 for present-day Boston where there’s no pandemic in sight. That big change aside, the series remains pretty faithful to the source material (thanks largely to Howard’s own involvement in adapting her words to screen).

That means sex plays a big role again here – as it should! This is supposed to be an erotic thriller, after all, hence the endless parades of naked torsos (and more) to be found across all eight episodes.

The naked torsos in question belong to Ciara (Dove Cameron) and Oliver (Avan Jogia) who meet by chance at a grocery store and fall into a steamy relationship. Yes, it’s steamy in more ways than one thanks to the sheer volume of showers the pair take both solo and together. One can’t help but fear for Oliver’s water bill by the end.

But that’s not all that makes us fearful. What sets 56 Days apart is that there isn’t a huge list of suspects to run down when it comes to who might be responsible for that melting corpse. Instead, the central mystery comes down to the two lovebirds in question. One of them is dead, but which one is it? And why did the other one end the relationship with murder when they seem to be so happy in love?

Twists and secrets abound, as you might expect, and they’re pretty outlandish for the most part, but they’re not exactly gripping. The present day narrative drags harder, despite decent character work from actors Karla Souza and Dorian Missick as the lead detectives. That makes sense though. The entire selling point of this show is the erotic chemistry between Cameron and Jogia. And they really do put their all into selling it.

Every single episode ends with their characters banging, or at least it feels that way. And to be fair, they’re both gorgeous human beings. Honestly, I was tempted to give the show an extra star just for Jogia’s hair alone. The chemistry the pair create together is undeniable. But outside of that, the characters feel like they were written in a day, all surface-level and twist-driven, rather than substantial people with personalities of their own.

There’s so much potential in this idea that either one of them is culpable for the violence that’s to come. Or perhaps both of them might be? Without spoiling anything, there’s more to their motivations going into this relationship than you might at first think. It’s all dragged out far too long though, with a mystery that’s more improbable and draining with each subsequent episode.

Amazon Prime Video

56 Days is the perfect example of a feature length narrative stretched out six hours longer than necessary (a problem that plagues much of the TV landscape in 2026).

There are flashes of something more interesting here, such as the moment when Oliver quite literally drowns in his suffering at the end of episode four. More stylistic flourishes like this would have been welcome, especially with horror maestro James Wan’s involvement as an executive producer. Instead, it’s all a bit bland and samey, despite strong supporting turns from the likes of Jesse James Keitel, an underrated talent in shows such as Queer As Folk and Big Sky.

The end result is a harmless distraction, fun at times if you’re in the mood for something trashy and a little scandalous. But let’s not kid ourselves and pretend that 56 Days is anything more than basic. Cameron and Jogia are better than this. And maybe, just maybe, so are you.

Should you watch 56 Days?

If you’re looking for something smart and thrilling, look elsewhere. Feel free to add a star if you’re into seeing Cameron or Jogia shirtless though.