British author James Grant, primarily known by his pen name, Lee Child, might have created literary icon Jack Reacher way back in 1997 and charted the character’s journey across 29 books and several short stories, but the 70-year-old has since come to the realisation that the ongoing adventures of his famed protagonist is no longer a one-man show.
After two cinematic outings that saw well-known actor Tom Cruise (the Mission: Impossible films) take on the role of the 1.96m tall character (don’t ask), the live-action adventures of the former American Marine now takes place on Amazon Prime Video with the hit Reacher series, where he’s played to a T by Alan Ritchson, of TV’s Titans (2018 – 2023) fame.
And while Child literally wrote the books for his titular creation, it takes a little more to bring the character to life for TV, in which Child also serves as the show’s executive producer and consultant, where there is a team crafting the exploits of Jack Reacher.
“We have a three way conversation, the main producer, the showrunner (Nick Santora, Prison Break), and me. We talk about what book we should do next, and it’s usually three or four conversations,” Child explains in an exclusive interview with Geek Culture.
“Honestly, it’s a bit like three people in a restaurant trying to choose a dish to share, and somebody says, ‘Well, I’d like this. I like that.’ And then we find the one that we all agree is the one that the viewer needs to see next,” Child explains, describing the process akin to more of a conversation than a decision.
Compared to Cruise’s Jack Reacher film series (2012 – 2016) films, there seems to be a greater appreciation for the Amazon series, which was renewed for a fourth season even before the premiere of the current third season and this has been greatly due in part to the casting of Ritchson, who, at 1.91m, physically embodies Reacher. Comparatively, Cruise’s casting as Reacher was met with vocal criticism from longtime fans of the books, given the stark difference in stature as Cruise, at 1.7m, is a far cry from the novel’s towering 1.96m protagonist.
At the time, Child defended the decision, arguing that Cruise captured the essence of Reacher even if he didn’t physically match the description. However, after the release of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back in 2016, Child acknowledged that readers had a point. “You cannot escape the fact that Reacher is a huge guy,” he admitted in an interview with The Independent, confirming that the character would be recast for a long-form streaming series.
With that foundation established in the earlier two seasons, season 3 presented the team with more freedom and they gravitated toward Persuader, the seventh novel in Child’s best-selling book series that sees Reacher going deep undercover, facing old enemies, and testing his limits once again, infiltrating a criminal conspiracy, and confronting ghosts from his past, alone. Unlike in the second season, where Reacher was able to get help from his old military team at his previous 110th Special Investigations Unit, the lone soldier is back in his element, whether it’s facing a returning nemesis, a formidable new adversary, or the weight of his own regrets.
“We could do pretty much whatever we wanted, so we picked one that was classic Reacher, the loner. He’s undercover. He’s on his own. He has no help or support. He’s in danger literally every second. If he gives himself away, he’s dead,” explains Child.
“And what we try and do is change it up a little bit each time, so that each season feels very different from the previous one.”
This time, Reacher hurtles into the dark heart of a vast criminal enterprise while attempting to rescue an undercover DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) informant whose time is running out. In the process, he comes face to face with Francis Xavier Quinn (Brian Tee, Chicago Med), a figure from his past who should have been dead.
“He thought he got rid of Quinn 10 years before, but somehow Quinn has come back to life, so it not only makes Reacher very regretful, but it worries him, because how does a person come back to life? Quinn seems to have a power that most villains don’t have over Reacher,” Child notes.
Bringing Reacher to life requires an actor who can match his physicality and presence, something Ritchson has done convincingly from the start and Child effuses praise for Ritchson’s understanding of his on-screen alter ago.
“Alan really understands that Reacher is not looking for trouble. He’s not trying to save the world. He wants a quiet life, but there’s a line. If somebody crosses that line, then Reacher will spring into action,” Child observes about Reacher’s strict moral code.
“Alan really shows that. He doesn’t threaten you, but you wouldn’t mess with him, and he really understands that it’s not exactly being passive, it’s just being self confident and ready and taking the world as it comes.”
“And to me, he’s the perfect Reacher, and I don’t think after all these years, he’s going to change how Reacher shows up in the books. He’s responding to the books, and that is all you could ask for from an actor.”
But even Reacher can be outmatched, at least physically. Persuader introduces Paulie, a 2.19m bodyguard who serves Quinn and eventually goes head-to-head with Reacher. Casting required a worldwide search, eventually leading to Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters, whose real-life size made any need for camera tricks unnecessary.
“It’s just a huge mountain of a man,” Child says. “And he does make Alan look small, which produces that huge feeling of danger, because we know they’re going to have to have a fight at some point, maybe we just wait for it to happen and we know it’s going to be spectacular.”
Now imagine if this was still Cruise playing Reacher, because that fight would have been over before it even began!
And while the show has stayed faithful to the novels so far, Child isn’t ruling out original stories from the production team should the series extend beyond his book and unlike some authors, he welcomes the idea of the show exploring new territory beyond his books.
“I’d be very open to it, because I trust the writers. The TV writers are terrific writers and great people, and they know the books very well,” he says.
“So if they did branch out into stories of their own, they would still be true, authentic Reacher stories, just with different plot points than those that occur in the books.”
But for now, the books offer plenty of material to draw from, and Child is even working on his 30th Reacher book, Exit Strategy, so let’s hope that the screenwriters continue to honour Reacher, and Child’s legacy by staying true to the source material.
And as always, he’s ready.
Reacher Season 3 is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, with new episodes dropping weekly.
Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, and anime — you name it. When she’s not reading or being a dedicated cinephile, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of Sylus from Love and Deepspace.
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