Posted in: Amazon Studios, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: Alan Ritchson, amazon, jack reacher, lee child, prime video, Reacher

Reacher Season 3: Alan Ritchson Post Honors Show's "Real Reacher"

Alan Ritchson honored Reacher executive producer Sam Hill in a touching post, sharing why Hill is the Prime Video series' "real Reacher."

It's pretty safe to say that things are pretty busy in Jack Reacher's streaming life. Even while Prime Video and writer & showrunner Nick Santora's Alan Ritchson-starring Reacher was wrapping up its second season, fans were already getting production updates on the third season. And then, earlier this week, it was confirmed that Lee Child's seventh novel, 2003's Persuader, would serve as the basis for Season 3: "Reacher must go undercover to rescue an informant held by a haunting foe from his past." Ritchson won't be returning alone, with Maria Sten's Frances Neagley also set to join in on the action. With all of that going on, Ritchson took some time out today to not only thank executive producer Sam Hill for all that he's done to help the show succeed but also to explain why Hill's "the real Reacher."

"In the world of Reacher, there are many people to thank. But one pair of boots on the ground has had an outsized impact on the psyche and behavior of Reacher, Sam Hill. ⁣I should back it up a bit," Ritchson wrote in a lengthy message honoring Hill for all that he's done to bring Child's literary hero to live-action life. "When the brilliant @jensalke at Amazon made the bold move to reinvent Reacher as a series, she made a call to legendary producer Don Granger at Skydance, who was the first in Hollywood to see the potential in Lee Child's seminal work. Together, they brought on Nick Santora as showrunner (the most important and unenviable role in TV). Nick, both an attorney and a well-established writer/showrunner, was a genius call. When a protagonist famously 'says nothing' and computes cases in his mind, Nick has created a pattern of speech for Reacher that is both entertaining and effective."

Ritchson continued, "Still with me? So, who was the first person Nick called? It sure as hell wasn't me. It was Sam Hill. Lovingly known as the Energizer Bunny. He seems to have an endless supply of stamina and enthusiasm. I remember being on set those first chaotic days in Margrave. He saddled up next to me, a producer I hardly knew, with a big appreciative smile on his face as we surveyed the immense set before us. He said, '7 seasons from now, we're gonna look back on these first days fondly.' I drank in his slight build, gentle demeanor, and kind eyes and thought, 'This guy's awfully sure of a lotta things!' I found his confidence amusing at the time.⁣ Years later, that memory serves as a humbling reminder that sometimes you truly never know when you're in the presence of angels or kings. Sam is something of both in the Reacher world. Don't let his self-deprecating humor fool you. He is completely indispensable to the show."
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"He is one of a small handful of people that has cart blanch to tinker with the inner workings of my instrument. He is something of a savior [in] season 3 as he has taken on the heavy yolk of directing every episode so that we can cross shoot the entire season due to the fallout of the strike. It would take us months, maybe years, to untangle the mess the strike caused otherwise," Ritchson shared at the end of his message – but not before adding, "I've wanted to say this for years. Sam isn't 6'5" 240lbs… but he's the real Reacher."

Reacher: What You Beed to Know About Season 2

Based on bestselling author Lee Child's 11th book in the series (Bad Luck and Trouble), Reacher sets out to find answers (and a lot of revenge) when members of his old military unit turn up dead. Serinda Swan (Coroner), Ferdinand Kingsley (The Sandman), and Robert Patrick (Peacemaker) have joined the cast as series regulars for the second season. In addition, Domenick Lombardozzi (Magnum P.I.), Luke Bilyk (DeGrassi: The Next Generation), Dean McKenzie (Shooter), Edsson Morales (Black Summer), Andres Collantes (Two Sentence Horror Stories), Shannon Kook-Chun (The 100), Ty Victor Olsson (Supernatural), Josh Blacker (See), and Al Sapienza (Coroner) are set to guest star. Maria Sten will return as Frances Neagley, with Shaun Sipos playing David O'Donnell.

Swan's Karla Dixon served with Reacher in the Army's unit of Special Investigators. She's an extremely intelligent private investigator who has no problem holding her own in a fight against men much larger than she is. Kingsley's A.M. is what Homeland Security calls a "ghost;" he operates under a number of aliases and can pass for any nationality. Money is his only motivation, and he'll work for the highest bidder.

Patrick's Shane Langston is a streetwise former NYPD detective with a questionable track record who is now head of security for a private defense contractor. Lombardozzi's Guy Russo is a tough NYPD detective who's investigating a case that involves several of Reacher's former Army cohorts. Olsson's Saropian is a brutal professional hitman who is charged with following members of Reacher's old elite military squad. Blacker's Hortense Fields is a Lt. Colonel in the Army who oversees Reacher's Elite 110th – Special Investigator's Unit. Sapienza's Marsh is a formidable lieutenant with the NYPD.

As previously reported, the rest of Reacher's former Special Investigator Task Force includes Bilyk as Calvin Franz, McKenzie as Stan Lowery, Morales as Manuel Orozco, Collantes as Jorge Sanchez, and Kook-Chun as Tony Swan. The series is produced by Amazon Studios, Skydance Television & Paramount TV Studios, with Child also serving as an executive producer with showrunner Nick Santora. In addition to Santora and Child, the series is executive produced by Don Granger, Scott Sullivan, and Adam Higgs, with David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Bill Bost for Skydance.

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