Why Jack Reacher Author Lee Child Is Open To Original Stories On The Prime Video Series

It's hard to imagine a streaming series based on Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels going wrong — as long as it sticks to the source material. Child's books are immensely popular, and all Prime Video had to do was follow the blueprint laid by Child, which is exactly what they did with "Reacher." The show debuted to record-breaking Prime Video streaming numbers back in 2022 and has been going strong ever since. Showrunner Nick Santora chose to hew closely to Child's writing and it paid off — though it helped that star Alan Ritchson was a much better, more book-accurate version of Jack Reacher than Tom Cruise, who previously played the role in two movies.

Considering the series' respect for the novels, we at /Film took it upon ourselves to suggest 12 books "Reacher" should adapt for its third season. Ultimately, Santora chose to base "Reacher" season 3 on "Persuader," which is both the best Jack Reacher book and the seventh in Child's hugely-popular series, which now spans 29 novels. But while the preeminent Jack Reacher book has now been taken off the board, there's still plenty of source material for the show moving forward, especially when you consider Child also wrote a collection of short stories and a guide to the world of Reacher called "Rules." What's more, Child's brother Andrew is set to continue writing the books in his brother's stead, and while some fans aren't quite as enamored with the younger Child's take, it at least means Santora and co. will have some possibilities to consider should they ever make it through the other 29 books in the series.

Of course, while Child is an executive producer on the show, "Reacher" isn't necessarily beholden to the text of his novels. The series could conceivably deviate from Child's books if it wanted, and already has in minor ways. According to Child himself, he would welcome such a development, too, which considering how well his streaming series has fared by following the books thus far, is a tad surprising.

"Reacher" has managed to become a streaming sensation by adapting one Lee Child book per season, but it hasn't been an entirely perfect run. The Prime Video show isn't following the order of the original novels, with season 2 being based on the 11th book, "Bad Luck and Trouble." It saw Reacher reunite with his ex-Army colleagues from the 110th Special Investigations unit and was a better season than the first in many ways. Some, however, argued that "Reacher" had jumped too far ahead in the book series too early in its run, before audiences had a chance to really get a sense of Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher by himself.

All of which is to say that there may come a time when Nick Santora might find himself faced with a choice as to whether to continue adapting the books, even if the stories aren't quite right for the next chapter in the "Reacher" series, or veer off into original territory. Should he choose the latter it seems he would have Child's blessing.

Speaking to Collider, Child revealed he would be more than happy to consider allowing the series to chart its own course. "I'd be very open to it," said the author, "because I trust the writers." He continued:

"The TV writers are terrific writers and great people, and they know the books very well. 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."

By now, Santora and his writers have certainly proved they know how to make a Jack Reacher series, and by the time they have to consider whether to branch off from the books, they will surely have become experts in how to craft a well-constructed Reacher story of their own. But how likely is it they'll ever really have to think about such a prospect?

In all honesty, as popular as "Reacher" is, it's difficult to imagine the show running for 29 seasons or more. That sort of historic run is typically reserved for shows that become cultural phenomena, beloved by every demographic. Again, "Reacher" did break Prime Video streaming records when it debuted, and remains one of the streamer's most popular shows, but 29 seasons might be a stretch.

That said, Santora and his writing team aren't following the storylines from the books word-for-word. The first season, for example, introduced Maria Sten's Francis Neagley, Reacher's longtime friend and former member of his Special Investigators in the Army. But the book on which season 1 was based, "Killing Floor," didn't feature Neagley at all. Small changes like this show that the series' writers aren't afraid to tweak Child's original formula when needed, so who knows — as the series progresses, perhaps we'll see even bigger deviations. As such, the show might not need a full 29 seasons to make its way through most of the material in the books, so perhaps Santora will have to think about constructing his own Jack Reacher tales sooner than we think.

When interviewed by Entertainment Weekly in April 2024, Alan Ritchson even compared Jack Reacher to James Bond and described the character as the American 007 (which is somewhat ironic, considering Jack Reacher was created by a British author). The Bond franchise ran out of Ian Fleming's original novels some time ago, and has created original stories of its own with moderate success. With that in mind, there's no reason "Reacher" wouldn't be able to do the same. At this point, though, it would seem the best course of action would be to stick to the formula that made the show such a hit in the first place and take it book-by-book.

New episodes of "Reacher" premiere Thursdays on Prime Video.