Reacher Season 2: Latest News, Release Date, Source Material, and More

Amazon Prime Video's Reacher is a hit as big as Jack Reacher's biceps. But it's been almost 18 months since we last got a new episode of the mystery series based on Lee Child's books, which has us sleuthing around for more information. The good news is that Amazon finally cracked and let slip a premiere date — well, a premiere month, really — and we will be getting Season 2 sometime this year.

Reacher was renewed for a second season faster than Reacher could beat up two guys, which is very fast indeed. We have questions about Season 2, and so do you. What Jack Reacher book will it be based on? When will Reacher Season 2 be released? Which cast members will be returning? We'll try to answer all those questions below, and update the post as more details are released.

Reacher latest news

We've pegged down a release window for Season 2! The good news is we will be getting Reacher Season 2 this year. The bad news is it will be at the very end of the year: December. We're still waiting for a final premiere date, though.

Reacher Season 2 release date prediction

Though it's not the exact date, Amazon sneakily announced that Reacher Season 2 would premiere in December 2023. The news came over Prime Day, in a video giving potential subscribers a peek at what's just been released and what's to come. Additionally, the video shows us our first look at the new season, and the biggest difference is the setting: Reacher is no longer in a small town. Can the big city handle the big man?

Previously, Vernon Sanders, head of Prime Video Television, told Collider that it will be back in 2023. Speaking about Season 2 at the end of 2022, Sanders said, "It's going really well. Alan is back, and he is so fantastic in the role. I'm so proud of the producers [for] finding that fit for Reacher. The Reacher fans of the book, their reaction to the show has just been a dream. 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."

Reacher Season 2 production and filming

Alan Ritchson let the world know in September 2022 that filming on Season 2 had officially begun, and, with the help of some visual aids, that Season 2 will be bigger than Season 1. 

In late February 2023, Ritchson — covered in bloody makeup and looking like he just wrestled three crocodiles in the middle of a category 5 tornado — returned to Twitter to let fans know that the crew had finished shooting Season 2, and that they've delivered on the promise of making things bigger and better than ever. And yes, he wrapped things up with the oversized slate. 

Which book will Reacher Season 2 follow, and what's it about?

Reacher Season 1 covered the first book in Lee Child's Jack Reacher books, Killing Floor. As for Season 2, star Alan Ritchson revealed which book it will be based on via Twitter in May 2022. 

Bad Luck and Trouble is the eleventh book in the series, and it sees Reacher investigating the murders of his old military police squad. Series creator Nick Santora has said that Reacher won't follow the books chronologically, so expect further seasons to bounce around again.

Amazon's official logline for the season is a bit more harsh: "When the members of Reacher's old military unit start turning up dead, Reacher has just one thing on his mind — revenge." Hell yeah, dude.

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Who will be in Reacher Season 2?

It wouldn't be Reacher without Jack Reacher, so it's obvious that Alan Ritchson will be back as the big ol' lug, despite the fact that he's about to become a huge movie star as part of the next Fast & Furious film. But the Reacher TV series was always meant to stay true to Reacher's wandering ways from the books, meaning it's unlikely that we'll meet up again with Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin), Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald), or other citizens of Margrave, Georgia. This has been all but confirmed by Fitzgerald, who said she always knew Roscoe was only going to be in Season 1 in an interview with Digital Spy. 

However, Deadline reports that Season 2 will include Season 1 vet Frances Neagley (Maria Sten), who was one of Reacher's old squadmates on his military police team. Frances is a recurring character in the Reacher novels, so it makes sense that she's going to recur in the show, too.

In September 2022, Deadline revealed that Shaun Sipos, who was last seen on Prime Video's Outer Range as Luke Tillerson, will play David O'Donnell, Reacher's pal from the 110th Army unit of special investigators. He'll be a major lead in the season opposite Ritchson. 

Later in September, Deadline reported more cast members, including Serinda Swan (Marvel's Inhumans), Ferdinand Kingsley (Sandman), and Rory Cochrane (CSI: Miami). Swan will play special investigator Karla Dixon, Kingsley will play undercover mercenary A.M., and Cochrane will play private defense contractor security head Shane Langston. Additionally, Domenick Lombardozzi, Luke Bilyk, Dean McKenzie, Edsson Morales, Andres Collantes, Shannon Kook-Chun, Ty Victor Olsson, Josh Blacker, and Al Sapienza will also star in Season 2 in various roles.

Has Reacher been renewed for Season 3?

Though not officially announced by Amazon, it appears Reacher Season 3 is a go. I mean, like, duh, right? One of the streamer's biggest surprise hits with plenty of source material to mine is a no-brainer to get a third season, but now we have some potential circumstantial rumors to prove it. As spotted by Bleeding Cool in May, a production notice for Reacher Season 3 said filming was set to begin in Toronto and Halifax, Canada, in mid-June and continue through November. However, with the ongoing writers strike, it's hard to say whether that still holds. Either way, expect Amazon to announce a third season closer to the premiere of Season 2. It's also important to note that Ritchson took to social media to announce the start of filming for Season 2, but he didn't do it for Season 3 (likely because Amazon isn't ready to announce it; the strike's affect on the production could also be a factor).

More shows like Reacher

If you're looking for more shows to watch that are like Reacher, we've put together a list. The shows included all share some DNA with Reacher, whether they feature a wise-cracking detective who does things their own way, shared cast members, or a big muscly dude who likes to punch people. Here are more shows like Reacher.

Reacher Season 1 review

We were impressed with the adaptation of Reacher for the small screen, and especially loved the casting of Ritchson as Reacher. Though there was room for improvement, we breezed through the episodes. It should also be noted that we felt the series got better as the season went along right up to the finale, but were only able to watch the first five episodes for review. Here's our review.

Where can I watch Reacher?

Your friend who refuses to check out Reacher because they aren't Amazon Prime Video subscribers will soon have no excuse not to watch. Amazon is making many of its Prime Video originals free on its ad-supported streaming service Freevee, which doesn't require any subscription and is currently home to shows like Bosch and Jury Duty. Expect Reacher to get a whole new audience once it hits Freevee later this year ahead of the release of Season 2.

Reacher is an Amazon Prime Video exclusive, so until it hits Freevee the only way to watch it is to have an Amazon Prime Video subscription. Season 1 is now streaming.