Now that Amazon Prime’s action flick “Reacher” has earned a Season 2 renewal, when can we expect to see it on our screens?
By TVLine‘s estimate, we shouldn’t expect it this year. The first season of “Reacher” was released on Feb. 5, after it was announced in Sept. 2020. Pandemic restrictions might’ve caused a delay in filming, but that’s a pretty long stretch of time between conception and execution.
But per TVLine writer Matt Webb Mitovich, “The smart money says by early 2023. As showrunner Nick Santora told TVLine, ‘We’re hoping to start [filming] hopefully sometime this calendar year, if things can get moving quickly enough.’ As for where Season 2 will shoot (for Season 1, Toronto played the role of small-town Georgia), that is TBD and likely reliant on which Lee Child book/setting is chosen to follow next.”
Early 2023 is definitely something we can work with. It might seem like a long way off, but we know that the “Reacher” showrunners are putting everything they can into matching or exceeding the expectations from the first season.
And Nick Santora did reveal a lot of behind-the-scenes info about “Reacher” Season 2 in a recent TVLine interview. Specifically, how difficult it is to choose which of Lee Child’s books to base Season 2 on.
“It’s tough. There are 26 [Jack Reacher] books, and then there are short-story anthologies…. And there’s so much thought that has to go into our decision,” Santora explained. “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.”
‘Reacher’ Showrunner Talks Having ‘Too Much’ Material to Choose From
“Reacher” showrunner Nick Santora said it helps to have Lee Child on the producing team. He can give input on the best direction to take Jack Reacher, as well as how to mix different storylines if that’s what they choose to do.
“But it’s 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?’” Santora continued.
“Lee Child has set up stories in small towns, in big cities… in the United States, and stories that take us to Europe…. There’s a plethora to select from,” Santora said. “It’s just a question of everyone putting their heads together, talking it out, and deciding what would be fun for fans. The good news is you can pick almost anything and you’re going to have a good story.”
That’s a true statement. Child’s series has a wildly popular fanbase, and so far those fans seem to love what Amazon has done with the story.
And while the easiest step might be to take things chronologically, Santora wouldn’t bet on that being the next move.
“I will say this: Don’t assume we’re going chronologically, and don’t assume we’re not going chronologically,” Santora told TVLine. “Because [at this moment] we legitimately don’t know.”
