Reacher Season 2 Release Window, Cast, Showrunner, Plot And More Details
Prime Video's "Reacher" made history by becoming the service's first TV project to top Nielsen's streaming ratings chart when it was released early in 2022. Fans didn't have long to wait for second season news. In fact, a renewal announcement just days after release even caught the project's showrunner, Nick Santora, off guard. According to Santora, the phrase "spreading like wildfire" came up during discussions. (via TVLine).
"Reacher" revolves around the life of fictional transient Jack Reacher. Once a member of the US military police corps, this protagonist finds himself at the center of conflict wherever he goes. There's no shortage of material, since the Lee Child character starred in more than two dozen short stories, and novellas. His first novel to feature Reacher, "Killing Floor," became the basis for the Amazon series' first season. Its story features the lead character fighting a small Georgia town's bogus murder charge before being recruited to help uncover local corruption.
With a new season already confirmed and almost ready to stream, there are a lot of questions to answer before the wanderer reaches his new destination. Here's everything we know about Season 2 of "Reacher."
When will Reacher Season 2 be released?
Just three days after its debut on Amazon's Prime Video subscription streaming service in February 2022, "Reacher" earned an order for a second season. At the time, the outlet was already looking towards what would come next for the drifter. Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, cited the talent both in front of and behind the camera as being a force in the popularity of this "undeniably bingeworthy series" (via Deadline). Since then, viewers have been left rewatching the first season as they await new episodes.
The renewal announcement was just a starting point for pre-production. Prime Video announced filming would commence in September 2022, but they left out any details about their plans for its release (via Collider). Talking to Collider in December 2022, Amazon Studios head of TV, Vernon Sanders, had high praise for the show, saying, "Season 2 is awesome. And as great as Season 1 was, I think Season 2 delivers beyond that, and I do think there's a good chance that that show will be back next year." And in February 24, 2023, Prime Video posted a video on Twitter of star Alan Ritchson announcing that Season 2 had wrapped filming and was "bigger and better than ever."
In July 2023, as part of its announcement of its fall and winter lineups, Amazon revealed that "Reacher" Season 2 would be available to stream some time in December 2023.
What is the plot of Reacher Season 2?
The first season took its cues from Lee Child's initial Reacher novel "Killing Floor. It's a faithful adaptation that focuses on many of the book's key points. While staying true to story and character aspects, the series' first season also establishes a few new details, with one of the biggest changes upping Finlay and Roscoe's role in the story.
This time, the series is skipping over numerous novel entries to find its next story. The second season will focus on the events of Child's 11th novel, "Bad Luck and Trouble." Alan Ritchson revealed the news in a cryptic Twitter post, with the accompanying picture of a blade and brass knuckles offering a direct reference to David O'Donnell, a character from the novel. The book itself was a hit upon release, charting number one on the New York Times Best Seller List.
"Bad Luck and Trouble" sees Reacher facing a series of killings with personal connections. As the book's official plot synopsis tells us, "A woman from his old military unit has found him using a signal only the eight members of their elite team would know. Then she tells him a terrifying story about the brutal death of a man they both served with. Soon Reacher is reuniting with the survivors of his team, scrambling to unravel the sudden disappearance of two other comrades."
Who is starring in Reacher Season 2?
Alan Ritchson returns as the title character with a penchant for finding trouble. Fans got their first glimpse of the actor back on set thanks to Prime Video's social media accounts. The actor showed his commitment to the role through a grueling training schedule; it ultimately led to him going through surgery due to an on-set injury. For his part, Ritchson is hoping to have a less treacherous shoot this time (via Variety).
Reacher's past remains a constant presence thanks to the return of actress Maria Sten. Her role as Frances Neagley offers valuable insight into the world she left behind and the experiences that taught him along the way. This former colleague in the Military Police now works as a detective, and in May 2022, Deadline announced that Sten had signed on for "Reacher" Season 2.
The character's upcoming destination also means a set of new cast additions. Robert Patrick will replace Rory Cochrane as detective-turned-private security head Shane Langston, and we'll also see talented performers such as Serinda Swan, Ferdinand Kingsley, Domenick Lombardozzi, Luke Bilyk, Dean McKenzie, Edsson Morales, Andres Collantes, Shannon Kook-Chun, Ty Victor Olsson, Josh Blacker, Al Sapienza, and Shaun Sipos dealing with Jack Reacher in "Reacher" Season 2.
Who is the showrunner for Reacher Season 2?
When Amazon ordered a continuing TV series based on Lee Child's "Jack Reacher" books for its Prime Video streaming service in January 2020, according to Deadline, the company simultaneously announced that Nick Santora, a writer and producer who previously worked on previous small-screen action hits like "Prison Break," "Breakout Kings," and "Scorpion," would oversee the adaptation. Not only would he write all nine episodes of "Reacher" Season 1, but he was slated to serve as executive producer and showrunner, too. "Reacher," as a TV series, is thus made under the singular vision of Santora, with franchise creator Child along for the ride in an advisory capacity.
After the successful first run of "Reacher," Santora told TVLine that he was pleased about the series' renewal for Season 2, clearly looking forward to adapting another of Child's many "Jack Reacher" novels for Prime Video and overseeing every aspect as a showrunner once again.
Where to watch Reacher
Looking to differentiate itself in the increasingly crowded world of streaming, in which the big players are owned by entertainment conglomerates with their own in-house productions and proprietary content (Max has access to Warner's DC Comics movies; Disney+ has every Disney movie), Amazon is willing to spend a lot of money (and time) to develop its own franchises based on well-known properties for its Prime Video service. It spent $465 million on the first season of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," for example (via THR), and in January 2020, Deadline reported that Amazon had spent the previous year developing a "Jack Reacher" Prime Video series. Lee Child's two dozen plus books featuring the titular itinerant ex-military helper and investigator, have sold more than 100 million copies and are a billion-dollar property. When "Reacher" Season 1 hit streaming in 2022, it subsequently did so on Prime Video, Amazon's exclusive streamer. In advance of "Reacher" Season 2, the first season of the series remains available at no extra charge to Prime Video subscribers and as of May 2023, on Amazon's free, ad-supported Freevee service.