‘56 Days’ Prime Video Series Review - Murder, Deception, and Red Flags

I wouldn't say I entirely disliked 56 Days. Based on Catherine Ryan Howard's novel of the same name and developed by Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher, the series offers a few mildly cheesy pleasures, and some of its twists aim for a strain of demented shock. But this particular brand of dementedness carries all the flash and faux-danger of a wannabe daredevil.

What begins as a chance encounter between two strangers, Oliver Kennedy (Avan Jogia) and Ciara Wyse (Dove Cameron), soon spirals into something wild, sexy, and dangerous. The first point of intrigue lies in discovering the reason behind Ciara's apparent blindness to the many red flags. While watching a space documentary at a theater, Oliver laughs when a man dies in an explosion. His fixed stares are suspicious enough, and a woman even warns Ciara to stay away from her new boyfriend. Ciara's response? She dismisses her well-wisher. The reason for all this is fairly unexpected, and with a sly smile, the show reveals the character's plan.

The second point of interest is the relationship graph of Ciara and Oliver, which veers into increasingly ridiculous and unpredictable regions. I haven't read the novel, though the press notes inform me that this adaptation shifts the setting from COVID-era Dublin to present-day Boston. If the couple's trajectory remains the same in the book, then Howard must possess the imagination of a hilariously unhinged writer. And yet, if this Prime Video series never feels as delightfully bonkers as, say, Netflix's Beef, it's because of its bland aesthetics and lack of narrative bite.

56 Days doesn't experiment much with form—it unfolds in a thoroughly unremarkable two-timeline structure. The "past" covers everything leading up to the 56th day, while "Today," stamped in big white letters, centers on a murder investigation. If homicide detectives Karl Connolly (Dorian Missick) and Lee Reardon (Karla Souza) discover a painting in the present, the narrative cuts to the past to show how it arrived there. If someone uses a needle in the past, that same needle turns up in the detectives' evidence in the present.

This back-and-forth structure does little to elevate suspense or generate momentum. It simply fills in the blanks and nudges the story toward its inevitable conclusion. The series is being marketed as an erotic thriller, and while sex is certainly present, it is neither particularly steamy nor sensorially exciting. The encounters are filmed plainly, almost like softcore porn. There's no real psychosexual tension—even in the early stages.

In his review of Luca Guadagnino's Challengers, film critic Richard Brody writes that "what makes a movie, or a moment, sexy isn't the amount of skin that's shown or what the characters get up to. It's a mood, the sense that the characters themselves are experiencing something sexy, are excited and vulnerable." That quality is precisely what's missing here. The sex is merely functional. It may mildly titillate viewers tuning in for carnal distraction, though superior options are easily available elsewhere.

The series is also incurious about basic practicalities—how a character acquires forgery skills, for instance, or how, without a job, they manage everyday expenses. The performances don't offer much compensation. The only observation worth making is that, from certain angles, Cameron resembles Lily-Rose Depp. Her feline features stand out against the show's dry, pallid palette. It's oddly believable when Oliver is surprised to learn that Ciara is a dog person; she carries herself like a cat.

Perhaps 56 Days should have leaned into that energy—let her prowl like a sly predator, purring with danger, claws grazing the skin of her victims. That might have made for a sharper erotic thriller. If nothing else, it would have given us a performance to remember.

Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times
Note: All 8 episodes are screened for this review.
Premiere Date: February 18, 2026, on Prime Video