Jack Reacher author reveals he wonders how season 5 will work adapting "brutal" and "disgusting" book

While the fourth season of Prime Video series Reacher has only just come to an end, thoughts are already turning to the upcoming fifth run of the show, which will be based on Lee Child's 20th novel in the Jack Reacher novel series, Make Me.

The synopsis for the novel, which was first published in 2016, says: "Jack Reacher has no place to go, and all the time in the world to get there. A remote railroad stop on the prairie with the curious name of Mother's Rest seems perfect for an aimless one-day stopover. He expects to find a lonely pioneer tombstone in a sea of nearly-ripe wheat.

"Instead there is a woman waiting for a missing colleague, a cryptic note about two hundred deaths, and a small town full of silent, watchful people. Reacher's one-day stopover turns into an open-ended quest leading to the most hidden reaches of the internet, and right into the nightmare heart of darkness."

Now, Child himself has weighed in on this choice of novel to adapt, and has admitted his concern about how they are going to bring the story to the screen.

The author told Collider: "Make Me, which they are — that’s going to be season 5. How they’re going to do that, I do not know, because that is a brutal story. I mean, it’s a disgusting story, really. It’s not fit for family consumption, so I don’t know what they’re going to do about the actual crime in that. It is relatively rural, you know, the immense plains and cornfields and all of that."

We won't spoil anything about the details of the brutality in the novel, but if Child himself has such concerns, it will certainly be interesting to see how the story is realised on screen.

Reacher has been a huge success for Prime Video across its four seasons so far, so much so that it spawned a spin-off, Neagley, focusing on the title character played by Maria Sten.

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Speaking with Radio Times, Sten explained how the spin-off differs from the original series, saying it takes "chances in the show that you couldn't necessarily do on Reacher."

Sten added: "I think Neagley is probably more emotional than Reacher is as well due to the nature of who Neagley is versus who Reacher is. So that is certainly something that feels different. The arcs of the characters also feel slightly different than how they would on Reacher. And then, of course, the continuation of the same crew with the same characters in the story."

Reacher seasons 1-4 are available to stream now on Prime Video. You can sign up to Amazon Prime Video for a 30-day free trial.

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Authors

James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.