Alan Ritchson and Maria Sten Are Officially Changing ‘Reacher’s Franchise Formula

Published Sep 16, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

Carly Lane is an Atlanta-based writer and critic who has been with Collider in some form or fashion since 2021. She considers herself a television nerd, diehard romance/sci-fi/fantasy reader, and nascent horror lover. Her fondness of books is only eclipsed by the towering TBR that her shelves can't possibly contain.

She is the author of A REGENCY GUIDE TO MODERN LIFE: 1800s ADVICE ON 21ST CENTURY LOVE, FRIENDS, FUN AND MORE, published through DK Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House) and currently available wherever books are sold.

The pressure is on. You wouldn’t know it by looking at Alan Ritchson and Maria Sten, but the week I’m speaking to both of them at San Diego Comic-Con kicks off an utter whirlwind of work commitments for both actors. Ritchson, who’s flown in to promote the return of Prime Video’s Reacher, is only sticking around for a limited amount of time before heading to Ontario, Canada, where production is kicking off on the already confirmed fifth season. Sten, meanwhile, has her own beast of a promotional circuit ahead — not for another season of Reacher, however, but for the franchise’s first spin-off series, Neagley.

That connection extends to the release strategy for both shows, with Prime Video dropping the first season of Neagley in its entirety on the same day that Reacher’s Season 4 finale premieres. For a show that only debuted four years ago, the fact that it’s already moving into franchise territory is an impressive milestone, but it’s hard not to attribute some of that success to the duo who have helped anchor the streaming adaptation of author Lee Child’s most iconic hero.

You’d think being on the receiving end of Jack Reacher and Frances Neagley’s undivided attention would feel akin to an intense interrogation, something the original Prime Video series has become known for — alongside its gritty, impressively realistic action scenes, of course. Yet as Ritchson and Sten graciously take a pause from their overwhelmingly busy schedules to talk about where the Reacher franchise has been and where it’s going next, it’s clear they couldn’t be further from the characters that audiences have come to know and love since their 2022 introduction.

Where Reacher is extraordinarily taciturn, a man of very few words who punches first and answers later, Ritchson is thoughtful, refreshingly candid, and absolutely covered in tattoos. Neagley is a closed book, guarded around newcomers and gradually letting down her walls for certain allies, but Sten is warm and introspective, with a brilliant smile that emerges whenever the conversation dips into less serious territory.

Together, you get the feeling that theirs is a partnership that has only strengthened over the years, both in front of and behind the camera — and with Sten now leading her own action-packed show, Ritchson finds himself in the unique position of playing her sidekick for a change. It’s a role that, by his own admission, he’s happy to fill.

Ritchson Wanted To Raise the Bar for ‘Reacher’ Season 4

Photography by Madi Atkins for Collider

Before that, though, we have to talk about Reacher and what the fourth season, based on Child’s novel Gone Tomorrow, really represents. On its own, it’s a major achievement, especially when you remember that this isn’t the first time Jack Reacher has been brought to the screen. Whatever your feelings on the Tom Cruise movies may be, it likely came as a surprise when it was announced that Prime Video would be going in a completely different direction for its own adaptation — and Ritchson, a mainstay on television in shows like Smallville, Blue Mountain State, and Titans, likely wasn’t a name on anyone’s personal fancasting list. In terms of sheer physicality alone, he had to believably transform himself into the retired U.S. Army major, an intensive experience that he’s previously been very frank about, but he also had to step into the very large shoes of a famously reticent protagonist who only uses his strength when necessary. (There’s a reason, after all, that one of the most famous quotes across all of Child’s books to date is “Reacher said nothing.”) Fortunately, all of Ritchson’s efforts paid off once Reacher dropped in February 2022, with his performance among the positives that secured the series its first Certified Fresh badge from Rotten Tomatoes. That level of critical acclaim has only continued as the show has gone on, but, for his part, Ritchson says he’s primarily thinking about how to continually raise the bar.

“I'm always looking for ways to improve the audience experience, and every decision that we make needs to be made with our audience in mind,” he admits, when asked about the biggest lesson that he’s internalized from Reacher’s first three seasons. It’s a surprising answer, given that you’d expect it to be more about which bruises he’s still nursing from performing those punishing stunt sequences. Instead, the question he’s always asking is: “How is this going to improve [the audience's] relationship to Reacher, or the amount of enjoyment that they get out of the show?”

By taking a page from Child’s books, Reacher has adopted a formula that all but ensures viewers don’t know what kind of story they’ll be tuning in for each time the show returns. Much of that unpredictability is a consequence of the titular character’s wayward nature; Reacher himself is a drifter who never stays in one place for very long and only keeps what he can carry on his massive person, which usually amounts to a clean pair of clothes and a toothbrush. But it also allows the show to introduce a new location and new faces each season, many of whom become Reacher’s somewhat reluctant allies each time he gets drawn into another mystery. This time around, he’s in Philadelphia, where a chance, fateful encounter with a woman named Anna Merrick (Karen Kwong-Chip) in a near-abandoned subway car draws him into an even bigger conspiracy tied to state secrets and secret assassins pretending to be the good guys (more on that part later). With Sten’s Neagley migrating over to her own show, Season 4 sees Sydelle Noel and Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette, whom Ritchson specifically describes as “incredible teammates,” joining Reacher’s team as Philadelphia detective Tamara Green and small-town cop and Anna’s brother, Jacob Merrick, respectively.

“Chris had a lot of heavy lifting to do,” Ritchson remarks, before elaborating on the performance of a co-star who joined the series in a last-minute recasting after sending a late-night audition tape to showrunner Nick Santora. “He brought an ocean of emotional depth with him. He had to carry a tremendous amount of loss and pain throughout the season while still remaining active and engaged in everything happening around him, and that’s a really tough job to pull off. He showed up every day fully ready to engage with those emotions, and I was really impressed by what he did.”

As for Noel, whom many fans likely recall from Netflix’s woefully cancelled wrestling series GLOW, her undeniable athleticism led to some unexpected behind-the-scenes competition with Ritchson. “She gave me a run for my money — literally. Anytime we had a scene where we had to run, I had a very hard time keeping up with her,” he admits.

“We actually did an ice bath together after one of those days where we’d been sprinting all day, just trying to loosen up and recover. I usually go for about three minutes. She casually sat in there for ten minutes straight. I set a personal record at four and a half minutes, and meanwhile she’s sitting there for ten, having a conversation like she’s in a sauna. No big deal. She’s a superhero.”

Alongside the show’s ability to reinvent itself each season, the fact that Ritchson’s career has only skyrocketed since the role of Jack Reacher put him on the map has actually worked in Reacher’s favor. While he’s been nabbing more parts in feature films like Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Netflix’s military sci-fi War Machine, and Scott Waugh’s action-comedy Runner, he’s also brought some of that big-screen experience back to Reacher to, in Ritchson’s words, “transform” the way the series tackles its major stunts. Above all else, the actor says that was his biggest mission for Season 4.

I want to continue to push stuff for that hyper-real, hyper-violent experience.

“There were things that I felt like we needed to improve on,” Ritchson tells me, “and these were systemic things that the audience may never understand or care about directly, but I do think it ultimately makes a better product, because the way that you prepare a fight, the way that you execute on that preparation, all eventually gives you more latitude on the day to shoot the right shots, to tell the right story within that fight, and it does eventually make its way on the screen into the audience's homes.”

He then proceeds to, as he calls it, “[nerd] out,” launching into a longer explanation about fight design, but it’s impossible not to be charmed by his enthusiasm and specificity, both of which feel like clear signs of passion for the work. From a production standpoint, though, tackling Reacher’s stunts in 1:1 previs, or previsualization, was a game-changer that allowed Ritchson and the show’s directors to troubleshoot issues before filming, resulting in a much smoother experience for the actors and stunt performers involved.

“You decide every angle, every shot. You just work out all the problems ahead of time so when you get on set, you're not wasting any time. You're going, ‘We've already solved every single issue. We know exactly what we're going to shoot.’ And you get more of the best on screen instead of struggling to figure it out with the director.” Implementing that approach in Season 4, Ritchson adds, allowed the action design to feel like it had more style. “The fights were more intricate because it was all married with the camera in prep, and we were able to execute better.”

The desire to push for bigger and better didn’t just extend to the coordination of Reacher’s stunts, but also to the sheer intensity of what plays out onscreen. From one character’s hand ending up shoved into a metal shredder to another’s head being pulled through two prison bars until his ear is nearly ripped off, Season 4 is undeniably home to far more visceral moments that certainly made me wince. When I mention as much to Ritchson, he reveals that Reacher’s pivot into more graphic territory was a direct response to his concern that the show was actually becoming too sanitized.

“I had a lot of conversations with Amazon and my producing partners and writers about how I want to continue pushing how aggressive some of these interactions can be on the show,” the actor confirms. “It's gotten a little tame, in my opinion.” Compared to Season 1, he points out, which included the premiere’s bone-crunching prison fight and a murder staged to look like a crucifixion, “I felt like we’d veered away from that a little bit and got a little safe, and censored some of what we could do.” Season 4, then, represented an opportunity for Reacher to embrace more of that original ruthlessness, and Ritchson says he “fought really, really hard” in favor of the series not cutting away from moments that make the audience want to watch through their fingers. “I want to continue to push stuff for that hyper-real, hyper-violent experience.”

Size Isn’t Everything: Inside ‘Reacher’s Bloodiest Finale Battle Yet

The below contains spoilers for the Reacher Season 4 finale.

Nowhere is Reacher’s escalated approach to action more visible than in the Season 4 finale. If you’ve been watching in the weeks leading up to this episode, you already know that one of the story’s biggest twists actually breaks from the typical Reacher formula, lending new dimension not just to the ongoing mystery but also to the show’s lead. While you wouldn’t necessarily think of Ritchson’s character as a ladies’ man, he’s had some meaningful connections with women here and there, even if his nomadic way of life doesn’t leave room for lasting relationships.

Season 4 doesn’t seem like an exception, but Reacher’s dynamic with the beautiful and mysterious Lila Hoth, played by Indonesian actress andsinger Agnez Mo, is forged before the truth about her is revealed. It turns out that Lila isn’t the long-lost daughter of U.S. Congressman John Sampson (Marc Blucas) as she claimed; she’s an assassin, trained to become a “killing machine,” as Mo describes in a separate conversation with Collider, and is responsible for torturing and killing multiple characters in a quest for revenge against Sampson.

The reveal that Lila isn’t who she claims to be is shocking enough, but it also marks a first for Reacher, whose understanding of the situation is thoroughly shaken when her true intentions are unmasked. “If you’ve read the book, you know this is the first time we’ve seen Reacher sleeping with the enemy,” Ritchson explains. “Exploring what that does to him — and to his psyche as he realizes the mistake he made by getting too close to this one — was an absolute blast to play.”

As Season 4’s greater conspiracy unfolds, viewers also learn that Lila, alongside her adoptive mother and mentor, Amisha (Anggun), intends to release a deadly virus now that they have the resources to manufacture it. Their first attempt to demonstrate the biological weapon’s devastating potential fails when Sampson heroically sacrifices himself to stop an attack at his own campaign dinner in the penultimate episode, but Reacher follows the trail of clues to the restaurant where Lila, Amisha, and their accomplices have been hiding out, and it’s no exaggeration to say that their finale showdown is the bloodiest fight the series has pulled off to date. While Tamara and Jacob face off with the Hoths’ goons, Reacher fights his way through the rundown building to where Lila and Amisha are waiting, already wielding the deadly curved Indonesian blades known as karambits. As a self-professed Reacher fan, Anggun had been wondering how the series could top last season’s bone-breaking clash of titans between Ritchson and the 7’2” Olivier Richters: “They’re not going to find someone bigger than the Dutch Giant.” The answer, it turns out, wasn’t to go bigger, but to drop the show’s lead into a situation where his size becomes a disadvantage.

I don’t think it matters to him whether you’re a man or a woman — if you’re committing a crime or hurting somebody, Reacher is going to step in and do something about it.

The stage is set with a brewing thunderstorm outside as Lila and Amisha circle Reacher like sharks sizing up their prey, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Behind the scenes, all three actors had been preparing for months in anticipation of this moment. Anggun and Mo lived in Toronto for almost half a year and, thanks to Reacher’s mostly chronological production schedule, were able to train with the stunt team two to three times a week, including between filming other scenes. While the two have other opportunities to showcase their fighting skills, Season 4’s most demanding sequence yet required four days to shoot — and, as Mo reveals, definitely required some Advil when all was said and done.

“There's beauty in the choreography,” the actress says about the unique style of Reacher’s face-off with the Hoths. “It isn't just hit, hit, hit. There are these manipulative tactics that both of them are doing, and I think that's what makes it so different, because there's a dance to it.” The fight itself is a juxtaposition, Mo adds, between brute strength and elegance; Reacher is “throwing and hitting and punching with whatever he can grab from the set,” while Lila and Amisha wield the more graceful techniques of Pencak Silat, an Indonesian fighting style that both actors were trained in, to deliver death by a thousand cuts.

Ritchson, however, had his own notes on the fight choreography at first, stemming from his insistence that Reacher wouldn’t just stand there and let the Hoths slice into him without retaliation. “I got really upset. I was like, ‘Why isn’t Reacher fighting back?’ And they said, ‘The studio says you’re not allowed to hit a girl.’ But this is the villain! And in the book, this fight starts with Reacher slashing her face and getting blood in her eyes.” Season 4’s version may not play out precisely the same way, but Ritchson says he successfully argued his case for Reacher to land a blow or two by going back to Child’s books, where the character’s ethos remains the same no matter who he’s fighting. “I don’t think it matters to him whether you’re a man or a woman — if you’re committing a crime or hurting somebody, Reacher is going to step in and do something about it.”

Eventually, the fight is whittled down when Amisha is sent flying through a window onto the pavement below, leaving Reacher and Lila in the final round. The intimacy they previously shared hangs over the entire confrontation, which escalates into a struggle where either one of them might end up injected with a syringe carrying that deadly virus. Mo says that Lila is purposefully difficult to put into a specific box — “she's vulnerable, intelligent, calculating, strong, and all of that sometimes within the same scene,” but now confirms that the moment where the character declares that she doesn’t know whether she enjoyed “fucking or killing” Reacher more is the closest audiences get to seeing the “real Lila.” That hubris, however, ultimately proves to be her undoing, once the show’s hero, despite bleeding from multiple wounds, gains the upper hand. “I think that cockiness and that arrogance is what made Lila all of a sudden forget Reacher is still Reacher,” Mo adds, with a laugh.

There’s still one more loose end to tie up regarding the Hoths, though; in a reveal on par with Michael Myers, Amisha has survived her fall and positions herself to attack a seriously wounded Reacher, only to find herself in the crosshairs of the one character who can ultimately deliver vengeance or mercy. Jacob has been weighing the cost of payback against the Hoths since discovering their role in his sister and nephew’s deaths, and now finds himself tempted by the possibility of getting revenge. Having trained under a ruthless military general, Amisha is prepared to die for her cause — but instead, she receives the last gesture she ever expected. “For her, going into this fight is all or nothing,” Anggun later explains. “So, she’s very disappointed that Jacob doesn’t finish her right then and there.”

Amisha ending up in handcuffs marks another change from Child’s book — “normally, everybody dies in Reacher but Reacher,” the actress points out — but Jacob’s clemency also tees up the more optimistic note of the season’s ending, despite the grislier journey that preceded it. With the case now closed, Reacher says his goodbyes to friends in Philadelphia, but makes time to enjoy one last cheesesteak before departing. The season comes full circle in another subway car — where, in the light of day, a wordless gesture resonates harder with the knowledge of what the character has been through. Reflecting on filming the final scene of Season 4 with Amanda Smith, Ritchson says there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. “She radiated this kindness and gentle energy that made you immediately want to care for her. Seeing somebody who life has treated harshly made it really easy to find the humanity in that moment, which is what that scene is all about.

“Sometimes we make mistakes, and sometimes the best way forward is to continue to serve in the places where maybe we tried and failed before. I thought it was a really beautiful send-off for the season, and that moment simply wouldn’t have been the same without Amanda.”

‘Neagley’ Might Be ‘Reacher’s “Little Sister,” but the Spin-Off Is Forging Its Own Path

The below contains spoilers for the first season of Neagley.

Meanwhile, as Reacher’s latest chapter comes to a close, the show is about to step into uncharted territory with the premiere of Neagley. At first glance, there are some early similarities to make note of — including the unflashy title card, rendered in black and white against that same ominous roll of thunder. But while the series embraces parts of its predecessor’s overall playbook, specifically with its approach to action, it also finds a few ways to assert its own identity.

“Neagley is the little sister of Reacher in a way, and we want it to feel like a family, but I also think Neagley’s different,” Sten explains, when asked to elaborate on what sets the spin-off apart. “She’s a different personality, so the show, tonally, is going to be more like Neagley. The way I like to describe it is that Reacher is a silverback gorilla, and Neagley is a mountain lion, and the action also reflects that in how they're solving problems and getting into fights.”

The good news is that fans have already gotten to know Frances Neagley over the first three seasons of Reacher, where she was introduced as a private investigator whom Reacher frequently called upon for her tech expertise, sniper’s eye, and problem-solving skills. Sten confirms that she read all of the books that Neagley appears in “before even showing up on day one of Season 1 of Reacher,” and originally likened her place on the show to the role that her character plays — “to show up and be of service, and just solve problems when someone needs help.”

While Neagley and Reacher’s dynamic as allies and friends quickly became a fan favorite with viewers, Sten now admits that she was always thinking about what her character was up to when she wasn’t being tapped to assist. “I always felt that Neagley had this presence of her own. She had a whole life that she was living when she wasn't around to help Reacher.” That then led to Sten imbuing her performance with what she describes as a mixture of irreverence and nonchalance whenever Neagley arrives on the scene to lend a helping hand. “And then, when she's done, she just leaves because she has other stuff to do.”

That greater potential living within the character also extended to Sten herself, whose strengths on both a physical and expressive level immediately caught Ritchson’s attention on Reacher. “[She was] in the finale in Season 1 sniping people,” he recounts. “As soon as you see her move, she moves in a way that's pretty distinct. I mean, she's super physical and capable in real life, and it's a natural transition into the role that she plays. I saw that and was really pleasantly surprised as soon as we started working together. There's nobody better to represent the strength of a highly capable woman who specializes in protecting the innocent than Maria.”

Neagley debuts this week with a case that has direct ties to its titular character, allowing Sten the chance to dig beneath the strong, capable exterior she’s been portraying for years. Now back in her hometown of Chicago, Neagley seeks to uncover the truth after a childhood friend dies under suspicious circumstances, convinced his death wasn’t merely a tragic accident. “I think when you're doing a first season of a show like this, you want it to have personal stakes for the character, like we saw in the first season of Reacher with his brother,” Sten explains. “And personal in more ways than one for Neagley, because we all want to know what her backstory is and what this mystery that surrounds her is all about.”

While the subsequent investigation leads Neagley down a very surprising rabbit hole, the show also uses its present-day mystery as a lens through which to unpack her past, providing answers to questions that fans have been asking since her very first appearance. One of Neagley’s most distinct characteristics is her haphephobia, an intense fear of touching or being touched by anyone, and Sten immediately praises the spin-off for how it addresses the character’s condition and where it first originated. “The way that it answers both the mystery that we as fans love to engage in, but also answers the more personal backstory about her — I think it's just so elegant that they were able to satisfy both of those things at the same time.”

Yet Neagley’s haphephobia, while rooted in very real childhood trauma, simultaneously offered both a “challenge” and a “gift” for Sten, who says that her own athletic background has always informed her performances. “How you walk through the world as a person says so much about who you are and what you've been through and how you grew up, so for me, it's super important.” In applying that same physicality to a character who can’t touch other people, she actually drew on her time as a dancer, “walking down a busy street in New York City, being aware of how to weave in and out of this flow of traffic,” when considering Neagley’s greater perception of the world and her proximity to others.

“It impacts how she carries herself — how she's always putting her hands in her pockets, how she is always very aware of her surroundings at all times. She has a very wide peripheral view, and is always seeing everything around her and is able to move in reaction to her surroundings.”

While Sten appreciated the opportunity to, as she puts it, “figure out how to create more character within these boundaries,” one aspect of Neagley that might surprise longtime fans is the element of romance that’s introduced alongside car explosions, hand-to-hand combat, and blood-pumping chase sequences. Greyston Holt’s Detective Hudson Riley, who’s been trying to make a name for himself beyond his family’s infamous reputation, isn’t thrilled about the idea of pairing up with a PI who bends the rules, but his begrudging feelings about Neagley gradually give way to something much more unexpected. As far as Sten is concerned, her character wouldn’t have even considered having a more intimate relationship with anyone if not for the solo journey she goes on — and by the end of the season, she’s lending more serious thought to something she didn’t even know she wanted in the first place.

That said, there’s an inherent obstacle to Neagley pursuing a romance with anyone, as Sten points out: “How do you tell a romantic story with two people who can't touch each other at all?” That question hangs over everything heading into a potential Season 2, which has yet to be confirmed, but it does hint at the possibility of Neagley forging a meaningful connection with someone who isn’t Reacher.

Even on Different Shows, Ritchson and Sten Will Always Be in Each Other’s Corner

Photography by Madi Atkins for Collider

One aspect in which Neagley distinguishes itself from Reacher isn’t revealed until the season finale. While Ritchson’s itinerant hero is all but destined to move on to another town made up of new faces, his longtime ally decides to put down roots in Chicago — meaning that if Neagley does come back for a second season, the character will be established in her own investigative firm, ready to solve whatever local problems land on her desk. It’s a move that gives Neagley a home base with real significance while also serving as a place where Reacher can check in now and then — and check in he does, in the aftermath of another very personal loss.

Despite any potential love interest on the horizon, Sten admits that Ritchson’s character is arguably the person Neagley’s closest to, not just by virtue of how long they’ve known each other but also because of “how much they've shown up for each other in very extreme circumstances through the years.” Although the season starts with the two taking down some kidnappers in the way that only they can (and attending a real Cubs game after the fact), the finale boasts an even more moving milestone for the characters that solidifies the importance of their relationship, especially since Sten clarifies that Neagley isn’t even anticipating that Reacher will show up this time.

Although Neagley has been exceedingly cautious about who she touches in certain situations, Sten expressly confirms that Reacher is a unique case. While there are no romantic feelings between the two, her choosing to initiate a handshake with him over anyone else indicates “a different kind of love and closeness,” as well as a major turning point in her individual growth and recovery from past trauma. “To me, it’s the biggest discovery that we make in this season.”

At the time, Sten didn’t comprehend the significance of the scene itself, mostly because she and Ritchson only had a limited amount of time to shoot it. “He was busy shooting something else, so he came in for that one day.” Revisiting it later on, in the final cut of the episode, elicited a very different reaction. “People tear up at that moment. They're crying over an action show, and that, to me, was really significant. That's my favorite moment in the whole show, because of course, if anyone is going to show up for her, even though she doesn't expect it, it’s him — and, of course, if she is ever going to have this moment, it's going to be with him.”

Not only does the gesture call back to everything that the characters have been through together, as Sten explains, but it also harkens back to the partnership that she and Ritchson have built on and offscreen. It’s a bond that was forged early on in Reacher through a shared philosophy, which Sten describes as a marriage of embracing efficiency and wanting to deliver the most entertaining experience possible — and it’s a method that she’s since brought over to her role as #1 on the call sheet for Neagley. “We're constantly working to try to make the show bigger.” Most importantly, Sten adds, no one could ever accuse her or Ritchson of simply going through the motions. “The thing that I really appreciate about Alan is the work ethic. No one is phoning it in. We are there showing up, doing the work.”

It’s fair to say that the results speak for themselves, but it’s also hard not to come away from watching either show without reflecting on the greater message behind it all — what Sten describes as “getting into trouble for the sake of the good.” At their core, Reacher and Neagley stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves, but the actors are both committed to emphasizing the importance of a society where stories about the strong helping the weak aren’t fictional wish fulfillment.

“People with ability and strength and power should be giving all of their time, energy, and resources to help those who need it the most, and we don't see that, and so we escape to a world where we wish that it was like this,” Ritchson asserts. “This is a hyperbolic version of what humanity can do if we really apply ourselves, and it saddens me that this is the exception to the rule, and we get to make a show about it. I wish everybody, in their own way, was their own kind of Reacher. I want to live in that world.” His assertion is delivered with the same amount of candor that he’s discussed any number of topics in recent interviews over the years, ranging from professional setbacks to mental health struggles. When our conversation turns to why he thinks it’s so important to be open about any subject under the sun, he elaborates without hesitation.

I wish everybody, in their own way, was their own kind of Reacher. I want to live in that world.

“I have to believe that continuing to talk about what's important and what matters and what's real, and what might open up the world for people to experience justice, freedom, a more fair experience in life, all of that, more opportunity, more provision — if we can create a world where we talk that into existence, and I have maybe planted a little seed of that, I will feel like my life had real meaning and purpose.”

For now, Ritchson’s world, as well as the overall Reacher franchise, is showing no signs of slowing down. The day after he, Sten, and I have our SDCC sit-down, he’s back at work filming Season 5, which adapts Make Me, one of Child’s darkest Reacher stories yet — but he somehow carves out the time to answer a few follow-up questions by email about what fans can look forward to from the show’s next installment. “It's incredibly well written. It's a super tight season, and it feels very true to some of the more classic Reacher seasons that we've seen on screen and read in the books.” In that same vein, he teases that series newcomer Ciara Bravo (Voicemails for Isabelle), who just so happens to be playing a character who doesn’t appear in Child’s book, could become a fan-favorite no matter how many seasons Reacher ultimately runs for. “The role of Eunice is honestly one of my favorite pairings we’ve ever had.”

Regardless of any new attachments his character forms, Ritchson still counts himself among the biggest admirers of Sten’s work not just within Reacher’s first three seasons, but also now as the lead of her own series. When I inquire about the likelihood of him potentially appearing in a second season of Neagley, there’s the sense that Ritchson doesn’t want to steal the spotlight away from Sten’s accomplishments — but it’s also evident that, just like the hero he plays on TV, he’ll keep showing up for his longtime friend and colleague when needed, no matter how far he might roam.

“I think [Neagley]’s got every ingredient necessary for greatness, and I will always do whatever I can to support her and to support the life of the show. So, I hope that we get to continue for a long time supporting what she's doing.”

Photographer: Madi Atkins | Location: Pendry Hotel San Diego

Glam Credits:

• Alan Ritchson – Groomer: Kat Crisp | Styling: Self
• Maria Sten — Hair: Suzette Boozer | Makeup: Lauren Chemin | Styling: Christopher Campbell