One of the stars of Reacher just confirmed why there was such a big delay between the first two seasons of Amazon Studios' hit series.
Reacher's first season quickly became a hit for Amazon when it was released back in February 2022. In fact, based on its first three days of release, it became one of the streamer’s most-watched shows of all time, cracking the top five list.
Strangely enough, despite a fast renewal, and starting production in September 2022, Season 2 didn't arrive until December 2023 - nearly two years later. For reference, the gap between the start of production for Season 1 and its official debut was only ten months.
The Reason Reacher Season 2 Got Delayed
While speaking with Jonatan Blomberg, Reacher star Maria Sten, who plays Neagley, revealed the real reason why Season 2 was delayed.
The topic came up in response to a question asking when the actress knew she'd be starring in both Seasons 1 and 2 - a privilege not afforded to the rest of the cast from the show’s freshman run.
Sten noted that she “knew that quite early on” about the break between the series' first two seasons:
“I knew that quite early on. I’m trying to actually remember because it’s been a while now cause the gap [between Season 1 and Season 2] was so big. When we announced which book we were going to do, I knew already that I was going to be in the second season. And, of course, since it is ‘Bad Luck and Trouble’ that we are doing, which is, of course, the one that dives a lot deeper into the relationship between Reacher and Neagly. And she’s a big part of that.”
She went on to talk about how “excited” she was about it while confirming that Season 2 is “coming out way later than intended” thanks to “the business being crazy this year:”
“And I was excited. And it was great to see their relationship go a little bit deeper, see why they are such good friends, and what makes them work so well together. So yeah, I knew quite early on, but we’re coming out way later than intended, of course, due to the business being crazy this year.”
It's clear the craziness Sten is alluding to is the strikes that took up a sizable chunk of this year. The WGA strike lasted from May 7 to September 2, while the SAG-AFTRA went from July 14 to November 9.
During that time, most productions were shut down in their entirety, with their writers and actors unable to work. To make matters stickier, actors weren't even allowed to promote their projects that were already filmed.
What's Next for Reacher Season 3?
Thankfully, Reacher has already been renewed for a Season 3 by Amazon Studios. Even better, both historic strikes are over, so more episodes shouldn't face any kind of delay
In fact, production has already started on new installments. If Season 3 keeps the same turnaround as Season 1 did (releasing ten months after production started), then fans could already be looking for new episodes as early as Fall 2024.
But what book is next up to adapt?
One fun option to switch it up would be adapting the 19th book in the series, Personal, which would take Reacher out of the United States entirely and into Paris. It's no small story either, following the titular hero as he chases a sniper who attempted to kill the President of France.
Of course, there are 28 total Jack Reacher books, so the creatives have plenty of strong options.
Reacher is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
