“Reacher” topped the Nielsen streaming charts back in 2022 and has remained one of the most popular shows on Prime Video ever since. While season 2 wasn’t every fans’ cup of tea (even star Alan Ritchson has admitted something was wrong with the second run of episodes), season 3 was a true return to form, which, considering it adapted the best book from Lee Child’s popular series, isn’t too surprising.
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The third season of the show was based on the seventh Jack Reacher novel “Persuader,” and pit Reacher against an assortment of foes, including Olivier Richters’ Paulie — a gigantic hulk of a man who was ever larger than the already huge Ritchson. Amazon clearly knew it had yet another smash hit on its hands as the company renewed “Reacher” for a fourth season three months before the third even debuted. Then, as expected, “Reacher” season 3 broke a huge Prime Video streaming record, bringing in 54.6 million viewers worldwide in its first 19 days on the platform, with more than half of that audience outside of the U.S.
As such, it’s no surprise Jack Reacher is set to return for another season (and very likely several more). But how on earth will Prime Video top that explosive third season, and when will it arrive? Here’s everything you need to know about “Reacher” season 4.
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Which book is Reacher season 4 based on?
After basing its first season on the debut Jack Reacher novel “Killing Floor,” “Reacher” jumped far ahead in Lee Child’s original book series by choosing to adapt the 11th entry, “Bad Luck and Trouble,” for season 2. Now, the show has arguably already adapted the best book in the Jack Reacher canon, bringing “Persuader” to life in season 3. Still, it’s not as if showrunner Nick Santora and his writers are running low on source material. There are now 29 Jack Reacher novels alongside a collection of short stories and a guide to the world of Reacher called “Rules.” Which of these forms the basis for “Reacher” season 4 remains unconfirmed at the time of writing, but there are several likely possibilities.
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In an interview with /Film, Alan Ritchson expressed his desire to see 1998’s “Die Trying” adapted, saying, “I do think the stories like ‘Die Trying,’ where he’s really drug reluctantly into the situation, is more true to who he is, because I think otherwise Reacher just wants to be left alone.” In a separate interview, the star explained how “Die Trying” was the second book he read when prepping for the series, and in his estimation was “full of so many of the attributes that I think both translate well to film and that I would just have a lot of fun bringing to life.” The book sees Reacher alone in Chicago when, after he helps a young woman with her laundry bags, he’s taken captive and transported across the U.S. The ex-military policeman ultimately takes on a radical militia who want to secede from the country.
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Of course, at this point we have no official confirmation of whether “Die Trying” will, in fact, be the book on which season 4 of “Reacher” is based. Meanwhile, Child has said he’s open to original stories on “Reacher,” suggesting that, at some point in the future, we may even see the show’s writers produce their own tale separate from the original novels. But with so many books to choose from, all of which are beloved by fans, that seems unlikely for the time being.
Who’s in the cast of Reacher season 4?
Jack Reacher famously lives a peripatetic life, traveling the U.S. and somehow finding himself drawn into all manner of debacles despite mostly minding his own business. “Reacher” stays true to the man’s nomadic habits, with each season of the show acting like a single book in the series by focusing on a new story in a new town with almost entirely new characters. Aside from Maria Sten’s Frances Neagley, one of Reacher’s former colleagues from his days spent leading the 110th Special Investigators unit in the Army, Reacher himself is pretty much the only constant in the series.
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That means that, at this point, all we can be sure of is that Alan Ritchson’s Jack Reacher will return for season 4. That said, one likely returning cast member is Sten, who will soon star in her own “Neagley” spin-off and is a fairly safe bet for season 4 of “Reacher,” seeing as her character has appeared in all three seasons of the series thus far. However, it could be that the spin-off itself will prevent Sten from having the time to make a season 4 appearance.
Things get even more speculative outside of Sten’s possible return. “Reacher” season 3’s DEA agent Susan Duffy (Sonya Cassidy) was one of the best things to happen to the show since its debut. She and Reacher even became romantically involved before parting ways at the end of the season. As such, while Cassidy almost certainly won’t be a main character in season 4, we might see her cameo in the same way that Malcom Goodwin’s Oscar Finlay from season 1 had a cameo in “Reacher” season 2, episode 4. Otherwise, it’s all a big mystery as to who will appear in Reacher’s next adventure, although showrunner Nick Santora will almost certainly still be overseeing things behind-the-scenes.
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When will Reacher season 4 be released?
Amazon might have greenlit a fourth season of “Reacher” before the third had even arrived, but the company looks like it’s taking its time to actually produce the new episodes. “Reacher season 3 ended on March 27, 2025, and fans hoping for a quick turnaround on the next episodes will likely be disappointed by a recent filming update for “Reacher” season 4, which revealed that most of the crew who work on the show are currently preoccupied with the Frances Neagley spin-off. That means season 4 of the mothership series almost certainly won’t start shooting until season 1 of the spin-off wraps up.
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“Neagley” reportedly started filming in Toronto in February 2025, with production set to last until the following June. At the time of writing, filming on “Neagley” is still very much underway, so we’ll likely have to wait until at least June 2025 to hear some sort of concrete update on when “Reacher” season 4 will get underway. Even then, it will likely be some time until we get an official release date for the next installment. Given how well the series performs for Prime Video, however, Amazon will surely want to hurry things along and keep that momentum going. For now, though, “Reacher” season 4 is without an official release date.
On a more positive front, Lee Child spoke to TechRadar about the forthcoming season and confirmed that a script is in place and shooting should begin soon after filming on “Neagley” is completed. “That’s already decided and prepared in advance,” he said with regard to season 4. “It’s written and it’s ready to go. It’s going to start shooting in the summer.” As such, we can almost certainly expect to see “Reacher” season 4 some time in 2026.
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What happened at the end of Reacher season 3?
“Reacher” season 3 was the best season of the show yet. Part of that had to do with the fact it was based on fan-favorite novel “Persuader,” which featured the hulking henchman Paulie (who’s played by a man so large he even managed to make Reacher look small). Paulie is easily the most entertaining opponent Alan Ritchson’s hero has yet faced, but the “Persuader” storyline was just as entertaining, embedding Reacher in a fancy mansion and having him sleuth his way around. This translated brilliantly to the screen. In his review of “Reacher” season 3, /Film’s Jacob Hall described it as “like watching the shark from ‘Jaws’ let loose in a swimming pool crowded with Bad Dudes Who Have It Coming.”
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Those bad dudes were all part of a nefarious scheme run by Xavier Quinn (Brian Tee), a rogue former military intelligence officer who previously killed off Reacher’s military police protegé, Sgt. Dominique Kohl (Mariah Robinson). Despite Reacher seemingly dispatching Quinn after this horrific act, he returns to take over the rug business of Zachary Beck (Anthony Michael Hall), using the firm as a means of trafficking weapons.
In order to dismantle this illicit scheme, Reacher inserts himself into Beck’s mansion at the behest of DEA agent Susan Duffy, who is certain Beck and his cohorts kidnapped her informant, Teresa (Storm Steenson), and is determined to get her back. By the time the “Reacher” season 3 finale has drawn to a close, Reacher has uncovered Quinn’s orchestration of Beck and his business, taken out Paulie in spectacular fashion, and with the help of Duffy, her fellow DEA agent Guillermo Villanueva (Roberto Montesinos), and Frances Neagley, recovered Teresa. The last moments of the season see Ritchson’s ex-military man taking out Quinn once and for all, before he and his temporary allies part ways, clearing the slate for season 4 (which will almost certainly find Reacher in full lone-wolf mode once again).
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Frequent Reacher ally Francis Neagley is getting her own spin-off
“Reacher” season 3 did a lot of things right, beginning with using “Persuader” as the basis for its story. Alan Ritchson, who evidently felt that the combat in season 2 wasn’t up to snuff, also put a lot of work into ensuring the fights and action sequences in season 3 were memorable, most notably in a big action scene that paid homage to a Sylvester Stallone classic. But arguably just as memorable as Reacher going full Rambo was a scene set in the Chicago offices of Maria Sten’s Frances Neagley.
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Clearly, a lot of thought had gone into this scene, which saw Neagley accosted in her office by two goons charged with taking her out. It ended with the private investigator calmly eating a bowl of cereal and chatting with one of her attackers as he bled out on the floor. This whole moment seemed crafted to show viewers what a Neagley spin-off could look like (which, as it turns out, looks pretty darn cool).
It makes sense that the “Reacher” producers would want to showcase Reacher’s close friend in this way. Back in October 2024, Prime Video announced that Neagley would indeed be getting her own spin-off. The series will reportedly follow Sten’s character after she discovers that a close friend has been killed in a suspicious accident and sets out on a mission for vengeance. Greyson Holt, Jasper Jones, Adeline Rudolph, Matthew Del Negro, and Pierce Woodrow are all set to appear as series regulars. What’s more, Alan Ritchson is expected to make an appearance as Reacher, which is only right considering how many times Neagley has helped out her former superior. “Reacher” showrunner Nick Santora is overseeing the show, which is expected to debut in 2026, likely before the next season of “Reacher” arrives.
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