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

Amazon Prime Video's Reacher is a hit as big as Jack Reacher's biceps. But it's been almost two years 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, and we will be getting Season 2 just in time for Christmas. (Just wondering: Can Reacher fit down a chimney?)

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

Reacher Season 2 will premiere on Friday, Dec. 15 on Prime Video! The news was announced along with the Season 2 trailer, which is embedded below. 

Reacher Season 2 release date, schedule, and episode count

On Nov. 7, Amazon Prime Video announced that Season 2 would drop on Friday, Dec. 15 with its first three episodes, followed by new episodes weekly through Jan. 19. To save you the math, that means Reacher Season 2 will have eight episodes. 

Previously, 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?

In Dec. 2022, Vernon Sanders, head of Prime Video Television, told Collider that it will be back in 2023. Speaking about Season 2, 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 trailer

Reacher is back, baby. The new trailer gives us our first good look at Season 2, and it feels like it's expanding the Reacher universe by leaps and bounds while still bringing us the comfort of Reacher's dry wit and heavy hands from Season 1. 

How many other TV heroes out there can kick a car and set off its air bag? 

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 after joining the Fast & Furious franchise. 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 was originally set to play private defense contractor security head Shane Langston. But Deadline reported in May that Cochrane was replaced by Robert Patrick due to scheduling difficulties. Can a Terminator take a punch by Reacher?

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. The writers and actors strikes affected that timetable, but we can still probably expect Amazon to announce a third season closer to the premiere of Season 2.

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 now 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. Currently, the first three episodes of Reacher are available on Freevee.

Reacher Season 1 is now streaming on Prime Video, with the first three episodes available with ads on Freevee.