Since 1997 author Lee Child has been overseeing the world of Jack Reacher.
There are the novels, of course (one released almost every year, now mostly written by Child’s younger brother Andrew) and a pair of Tom Cruise movies (in 2013 and 2016). But now Child is overseeing an expansion of the universe he created all those years ago – Prime Video’s “Reacher,” which just returned for its third season, is a genuine phenomenon. It’s been renewed for Season 4 already and a go-ahead has been given for a spinoff centered around a fan-favorite character from Reacher lore (more on that).
Not that Child sees it as switching gears.
“It’s adding a gear that I already knew,” Child told TheWrap. Before becoming an international bestselling novelist he worked in television in England, making him uniquely suited to watch Jack Reacher go from literary titan to television sensation. “Fundamentally, it’s about story. I don’t care how the story is told. I don’t care what medium it is. No doubt in the future, we’re going to have all different kinds of media that somehow communicates story. And so the exact mechanism doesn’t matter. What matters to me is that people get the story, and streaming television is a great new way of doing that.”
Child said he wished that streaming had been an option before. “It’s perfect for the novels because you’ve got the time to keep everything that you need to keep, whereas any other kind of adaptation, like a feature film, is all about ruthless cutting,” Child said. That ruthless cutting only allows for the “essence of the story,” something he likens to a Reader’s Digest version. “An abridged version can be really good but you’re missing out on a lot of the flavor,” Child said. “You’re missing out on the contrast, the light and the shade and the quiet parts.”
This season of “Reacher” is based on his 2003 novel “Persuader,” which has Reacher getting involved in a DEA operation that connects back to his past. The previous two seasons have also been rooted in Reacher’s personal history — “Killing Floor,” which served as the basis for Season 1, saw him investigate, in part, the death of his brother; “Bad Luck and Trouble,” which inspired Season 2, had a villain targeting the member of Reacher’s old army unit.
This was, in part, by design, said Child. “The only sort of theoretical position that we had at the beginning was we felt that hopefully this was going to be massive, and therefore there’s going to be a big audience, and there were going to be people that had never heard of Reacher before,” Child said. “To a certain extent, he needed explaining.” With that in mind, Child explained, the first season involved Reacher’s actual family, while the second season centered on his work family. “We’ve done that now, we’ve introduced him, we’ve grounded him. Now we can cut loose and do what we want,” Child said.
While Season 3 does involve a shadowy figure from Reacher’s past, Child insists that this is season is more “a classic lone wolf Reacher — alone, no help, no support, in danger, completely self-reliant.” This has loosened up the show, according to Child. “In the future, we’re pretty much at liberty to do anything we want. We’ll do that Podunk town where he kills 50 guys. We’ll do one that involves the White House or whatever. We’ve staked out the territory now and we can fill the gaps any way we want,” said Child.
A classic lone wolf Reacher story allows for him to go it alone without his BFF Neagley (Maria Sten), his one confidant who has been by his side since they were in the Army’s 110th investigative unit. Neagley is the character that is going to get her own spinoff, in the not-too-distant future. “She’s this surprise hit of the series,” Child said of Sten. “She totally owns that character.” Child said that when he writes the character, he sees Maria. “I can’t see past her anymore. She has claimed that role and she totally deserves that spinoff,” Child said. “I hope it’s a huge success and I hope she enjoys doing it.”
For years, readers (super fans are known as Reacher Creatures) would approach Child and tell him that she should have her own series. “I was nervous about doing it, because the thing about her, it seemed to me, was that she’s mysterious. She’s unexplained. I didn’t want to go too deeply into what made her who she is. I felt that would burst the bubble somehow, so I shied away from it,” Child said. Nick Santora, who also developed “Reacher,” told Child, “Yes, I’m going to explain her. I’m going to explain why she became who she is.” “I thought that was brave. And I think the solution that he came up with is magnificent, and I’m professionally, incredibly jealous of it. He did something that I was afraid to do and he did it superbly well,” said Child.
As for the mainline “Reacher” series, considering this is coming from someone who wrote a bestselling novel every year (in 2010 he wrote two interconnected Reacher novels), Child is ready for the show to continue indefinitely. “Let’s hope it continues for a long time,” the author said.
“Reacher” releases new episodes Thursdays on Prime Video.
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