Reacher
I have been looking forward to the return of Reacher, the surprise Amazon Prime Video hit that actually cast the correct actor, who is not Tom Cruise, to play the titular role. That would be the hulking brick wall that is Alan Ritchson, who I remember a million years ago as Aquaman on Smallville, though more recently Hawk on Titans. But now he’s playing a different sort of superhero.
Reacher was a surprise breakout hit for Amazon, and now that season 2 is here, it’s clear it’s one of their most promising productions even alongside megahits like The Boys. And for far less money, no doubt, given no reliance of extensive VFX. Though I don’t know what Ritchson’s protein budget might be.
Season 1 was certainly well-received, a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics with a 91% audience score. But season 2? Yes, as you can see above, that’s double perfect 100%s from both groups. You truly do not see this very often, and even if it dips eventually, that’s still extremely impressive.
The season just launched with its first three episodes on Amazon, and once my wife realized that, she made me quit in the middle of the game I was playing to immediately watch it. That’s the sort of devoting the show inspires.
Reacher
This time around, Reacher is investigating the death of old members of his Special Investigations team from his time as Military Police, based on the book Bad Luck and Trouble by author Lee Child. There are 28(!) Jack Reacher books, so needless to say there is infinite source material if Amazon wants to keep this going indefinitely. And I am guessing they do.
This keeps happening to Amazon, where its massively expensive shows like Rings of Power and Citadel are “just okay” and its (relatively) less costly shows like Reacher, The Boys, Invincible and The Wheel of Time are much better. And often watched more.
Reacher is a perfect show for a streaming service like Amazon. Low cost, infinite source material, well-received by critics, beloved by audiences. It checks every box and I have to believe that means a greenlight for the foreseeable future to come. Season 3 was already announced before season 2 even aired, and I expect that to keep happening short of some massive viewership falloff, which does not seem like it’s going to happen.
The entire reason this show works is Ritchson’s Reacher, whose physicality and stubborn sense of righteousness carries the entire production alongside its winding murder mysteries. Having read a large chunk of the books, it’s hard to picture a better actor for the part, and I have to believe this may lead to even larger roles for Ritchson in the future. Though I guess leading one of the most popular shows on a massive streaming service is pretty big in and of itself.
I’ve only seen episode one of three so far, but yeah, it’s still good, just like last season. Looking forward to seeing more of Ritchson. I mean looking forward to seeing where it goes.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
