56 Days: Should you watch or skip the latest Prime Video thriller? A viewer's guide

Prime Video released all eight episodes of 56 Days on February 18, 2026, meaning that it is exclusively available on the platform in over 240 countries and territories across the globe. The show is created by Amazon MGM Studios and the production firm Atomic Monster, which was started by horror movie director James Wan, who is also the executive producer.

It is both written and executive-produced by Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher and is based on the bestselling novel bearing the same title by the Irish author Catherine Ryan Howard.

The series stars Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia as two young lovers whose whirlwind romance concludes with a body in a bathtub. The response has been mixed, as critics have been split on whether the series is as thrilling as advertised. Its approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 63% from 16 reviews, which places the series directly in “it depends on what you are looking for” territory. So, is 56 Days worth your time?

Should you watch or skip 56 Days?

56 Days follows Oliver and Ciara, who bump into each other at a supermarket and fall in love incredibly fast. Fifty-six days on, murder detectives reach Oliver’s apartment to discover an unknown corpse, violently killed and deliberately left to decompose. The two main questions the show develops around are simple: did she kill him, or did he kill her?

The plot is presented in two time frames. In the present day, two Boston Police detectives are probing a hideous murder. The body of an unknown person has been located in the bathtub of a high-end flat and has dissolved to the point where the crime scene investigation team must use a ladle to extract pieces of bone. Next, the show travels back in time and takes viewers through the way Oliver and Ciara’s relationship evolved day by day during those 56 days.

In 56 Days, Ciara is a working-class girl, and Oliver is an old-money boy who takes her on their first date to an exclusive cocktail bar. Their relationship starts on an unequal footing. As the episodes continue, the secrets of both characters start to surface, and viewers are left in a state of constant uncertainty about whom to believe.

As Oliver becomes paranoid when Ciara moves into his luxurious apartment, the detectives working on the case, Lee Reardon and Karl Connolly, start discovering secrets of their own. As Ciara draws nearer to his multi-million-dollar wealth, the romance between Oliver and Ciara heats up, raising questions about whether love or money is driving what is to come.

Critics who watched and liked 56 Days applauded its format and the manner in which it keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Variety hails the series as a great story of revenge, secrets, and electric chemistry. Although certain twists are more apparent than others, the show succeeds in the sense that the viewer is never quite sure what to expect.

However, not everyone was convinced. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 56 Days is the TV version of a mediocre fling. It is thrilling enough to watch initially, but after watching more of it, you realize it lacks depth. The review observed that it is difficult to be totally engaged in either the romance or the mystery unless one has a solid idea of what the true motivations of the characters are.

The site of Roger Ebert was even more critical, stating that the plot, the characters, and the twist are not believable. They added that the majority of the cast have difficulty making the story come to life, which is why each of the eight 48-minute episodes seems longer than it actually is.

On another side of the debate, audience reactions on IMDb have been more welcoming. The camera work was praised as immaculate and interesting, and 56 Days was described by some viewers as a great whodunit, with all the characters being questionably bad, having done something during those 56 days. Some viewers also mentioned that the initial awkwardness between the two protagonists is replaced with a more interesting dynamic as the episodes progress.

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The Irish Times referred to it as a gloriously campy fusion of fever dream and preposterous thriller and termed it one of the worst things the reviewer ever watched in a manner they enjoyed.

So, should you watch or skip? If you enjoy twisty crime shows with a romantic flair, a lot of secrets, and a mystery that makes you doubt everything, 56 Days is probably worth a binge. It is the type of show that rewards viewers who do not take it too seriously. It may not satisfy you if you require strong character growth and emotional richness to remain interested.

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