Reacher Showrunner Addresses Which Book Season 2 Could Follow

Amazon’s Prime Video service has a new TV hit on its hands. Reacher, based on the character in Lee Child’s long-running novel franchise, delivered a massive debut for Amazon and was renewed for a second season within days of its premiere. The first season, which consisted of eight episodes, followed the story of The Killing Floor, the very first Jack Reacher novel. With Season 2 now in the works, fans are wondering which novel will be featured next. 

Lee Child has written more than two dozen Jack Reacher novels, so there are plenty of stories to pick from heading into the second season of the TV series. The second book in the series is called Die Trying, and many fans have assumed that would be the logical direction for Season 2. According to showrunner Nick Santora, however, that may not be the case. It sounds like the decision is still being made.

“It’s tough. There are 26 [Jack Reacher] books, and then there are short-story anthologies,” Santora told TVLine in a recent interview. “And there’s so much thought that has to go into our decision. Do we want it to be similar to Season 1, because Season 1 was successful? Do we want to go a little different? There’s so much that Lee gives us to choose from.”

“The good news is we have Lee Child has an executive producer on this show,” the showrunner continued, “and we have other producers on this show – we have Amazon, we have Skydance, we have Paramount – and we will sit and discuss it. But it’s a not a problem when you have too much good material to choose from. The problem is when you’re staring at an empty space, asking, ‘What am I going to write?’”

The first season of Reacher largely takes place in the small town of Margrave, Georgia, as Ritchson’s titular character helps solve a conspiracy and shut down a counterfeit money operation. Like the books, the season ends with Jack leaving the town, moving on to his next adventure. It stands to reason that the majority of the characters featured in this first batch of episodes might not be back for the second installment, save for Reacher himself. The supporting cast of Season 2 will all depend on which book the new episodes follow.

Are you looking forward to Reacher Season 2? Let us know in the comments!