Lee Child explains why Neagley has a larger role in Prime Video’s Reacher show than she does in his bestselling Jack Reacher novel series.

SUMMARY

 Maria Sten’s Neagley is an important part of Reacher because she can be used to show Jack Reacher’s thought process.
 Reacher’s mental problem-solving can take up multiple pages of Lee Child’s novels, but this isn’t possible in a TV show.
 After a more team-focused season 2, Neagley’s role in Reacher season 3 will seemingly be closer to that of season 1.

Jack Reacher novelist Lee Child explains why Neagley’s role in Reacher is bigger than in his book series. Premiering on Prime Video in 2022, the popular show sees Alan Ritchson taking on the role of the titular former Military Police Officer. While the Reacher cast of characters is mostly shaken up between seasons 1 and 2, Maria Sten’s Neagley plays a role in both seasons, and she’s set to return again in the confirmed season 3.

Now, as audiences await Reacher season 3, Child explains in an interview with Empire that Neagley is a necessary part of the show due to her function in fleshing out Jack’s thought processes. Although she only features in a small number of Child’s books, Sten’s character becomes a much more important figure in the show due to the nature of the medium of television. Check out Child’s full explanation below:

“Neagley was a strategic decision. The one thing you cannot do on screen that you can in a book is have the inside of somebody’s head. Reacher thinks a lot, and there are pages and pages of Reacher puzzling things out. You can’t write an eight-minute scene with Alan Ritchson sitting there, thinking. So we needed a secondary character to bolster the exposition.”

Neagley’s Expanded Reacher Role Explained

How Will Season 3 Handle Neagley’s Return?

Reacher season 1 is based on Child’s Killing Floor, a novel in which Neagley doesn’t appear. Sten’s character served an important function in season 1, however, giving audiences a hint of Jack’s past life and showing audiences how he could have taken a different path in his career, leaving the army and grabbing a high-paying private sector job. In season 1, then, in addition to helping show how Reacher parses through an investigation, Neagley helps to flesh out Reacher’s personality.

Neagley’s role in the well-reviewed Reacher season 2 is much bigger, and she plays an important part in essentially every episode. Season 2, as a whole, is much more team-focused than season 1, and Neagley serves as a sounding board throughout, constantly helping Reacher make sense of new developments in the case. Season 2 also further cements and explores their friendship.

In addition to Ritchson and Sten, the Reacher season 3 will include newcomers like Anthony Michael Hall and Sonya Cassidy.

Although the Reacher season 2 finale sees Reacher bid farewell to Neagley as he sets out on the road once more, Sten is confirmed to return in some capacity in season 3.

Season 3 has been teased to be a more solo adventure for Ritchson’s character, perhaps hinting that Neagley will feature in a capacity more similar to season 1 next time, cropping up in only a few episodes. In any case, it seems like Neagley is here to stay in future seasons of Reacher.