Reacher is almost back, with Season 4 reported to have ended production in mid-November. The thriller hit series has been hyped up by lead star Alan Ritchson, promising the next season will be the best one yet.
However, ahead of any updates on what’s to come, Reacher was hit with some unexpected news. Author Lee Child is officially stepping away from Reacher. Not just the books, but the entire franchise, per Collider.
Child is a bestselling author, but his most defining work is the Reacher franchise. He made his writing debut with the first novel in the series, Killing Floor, in 1997. Since then, he has been tied to the universe, which received two feature film adaptations starring Tom Cruise, 2012’s Jack Reacher and its 2016 sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, as well as the hit Prime Video thriller.
The actor had been putting some distance from Reacher since 2020, when his novel The Sentinel added a co-writer, Child’s brother, Andrew, which marked the beginning of Lee’s retirement. Andrew Child hadn’t written before, but he had been a part of the entire journey since Lee’s manuscript, and called himself “the original Reacher fan.”
Since then, they co-wrote five more books, the last one released on Nov. 11, 2025, which is titled Exit Strategy. The thirtieth is, in fact, Lee’s exit strategy, too, as it marked the end of an era for him and the beginning of a new chapter for Jack Reacher. “It’s all his now,” Lee declared about his brother when speaking to USA Today. “My entire ambition was to give the character away,” Lee admitted.
This leads to major questions about the show’s future. Lee Child has served as an executive producer on the Prime Video hit thriller show, and is an avid fan of the new version. As Lee Child teased leaving the spotlight and letting “somebody else have the fun,” he also teased that he wants to give back and do charity and literacy projects for prisons. He hasn’t clarified his involvement in the show’s future.
Lee Child Called Reacher an ‘Addictive’ Adaptation
Amazon / Courtesy Everett Collection
The Prime Video hit series premiered in 2022 and was a massive success. The show started with 1997’s debut novel, and switched to 2007’s Bad Luck and Trouble in Season 2 and 2003’s Persuader in Season 3. The current Season 4 adapts 2009’s Gone Tomorrow.
Speaking to Deadline earlier this month, Child praised Nick Santora’s “relentless non-stop pace” and how bingeable it is. He explained, “My theory is that if you have relentless non-stop pace that’s the same thing as having no pace at all. What you need is to show the differences, the quiet parts make the action parts even more effective. And so that was the thrill and the fun of doing a whole season on one story.”
He explained, “I think it is addictive for a novelist. I can guarantee that if streaming television had been around before, no novelist would ever have chosen anything else, because this works so much better.
Alan Ritchson also teased that the new entry is the best and bloodiest season. Season 4 doesn’t have a release date, but the Playdate actor confirmed earlier this month that production was expected to wrap mid-November.
Reacher is streaming on Prime Video.
The cover of Reacher depicts Jack Reacher’s (Alan Ritchson) from the back as he stands in front of a yellow screen on the cover of Reacher.Image via Amazon Prime Video.
Release Date
February 3, 2022
Network
Prime Video
Showrunner
Nick Santora
Directors
Omar Madha, Carol Banker, Julian Holmes, Lin Oeding, M.J. Bassett, Norberto Barba, Stephen Surjik, Thomas Vincent
Writers
Cait Duffy
Alan Ritchson
Jack Reacher
Maria Sten
Frances Neagley
