What To Know About 'Neagley' Before Prime Video's 'Reacher' Spin-Off Officially Premieres
Jeffrey is a freelance features writer at Collider. He is an MPA-accredited entertainment journalist and a Tomatometer-approved critic based in the LA area. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Radio, TV, & Film and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater.
The Reacher television franchise is about to expand with the upcoming debut of its first-ever spin-off. In Neagley, Reacher alum Maria Sten takes center stage as the eponymous character, pursuing a new mystery with very personal ties to her background — and doing it without Alan Ritchson's Reacher by her side. Here's everything you need to remember about Neagley and her previous appearances before her new show drops on Prime Video this week.
Frances Neagley Is Reacher's Closest Ally
A former U.S. Army Master Sergeant, Frances Neagley served with Reacher in the Military Police's 110th Special Investigations Unit. Although still mourning the tragic loss of his first protégé, Sergeant Dominique Kohl (Mariah Robinson), Reacher eventually took Neagley under his wing, and they formed a close bond, with Neagley learning from her superior officer at "the school of Reacher," as she described it. Neagley makes her first appearance in Reacher Season 1, Episode 4, "In a Tree." After the 110th Special Investigations Unit is disbanded, Neagley becomes a private investigator in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
During Reacher Season 1, Neagley's assistance proves crucial in helping Reacher, Finlay, and Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) take down the Kliners and their counterfeiting operation. In Season 2, Reacher and Neagley reunite with the surviving members of the 110th, David O'Donnell (Shaun Sipos) and Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan), to topple the conspirators who murdered their former colleagues. Neagley returns in Season 3 as well, where she assists Reacher in exacting revenge against Francis Xavier Quinn (Brian Tee), the corrupt Army Intelligence operative who murdered Sgt. Kohl.
Neagley Is a Much More Complicated Character Than You Think
Because of their time together in the 110th, Reacher and Neagley have forged a close friendship, a fact that Reacher himself even acknowledges in the Season 2 finale. Neagley has proven to be an invaluable ally for Reacher, saving his life multiple times before the events of the flagship series, and they would both drop anything at a moment’s notice to come to each other's aid.
Although Reacher and Neagley are both highly skilled investigators and hand-to-hand combatants, the characters are distinct. An expert at close-quarters combat, Neagley is an ace sniper, demonstrating her sharpshooter skills to Detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) in the Season 1 finale, "Pie," before dropping one of the series' best lines after sniping two guards at the Kliner warehouse: "Put the biscuit in the basket." In her leisure time, Neagley loves playing video games and strongly prefers sugary breakfast cereals, one of her favorite foods. While Reacher frequently pursues romance with various female allies throughout his series, Neagley interestingly remarks in Season 2 that she isn't attracted to anyone.
Additionally, Neagley suffers from haphephobia, a condition that results in a serious aversion to touching or being touched by anyone. During Reacher Season 2, Detective Guy Russo (Domenic Lombardozzi) is fatally wounded while protecting a witness from gunmen working for Shane Langston (Robert Patrick), and Neagley pushes through her haphephobia to grasp Russo's hand and console him as he dies, which remains one of the series' most impactful moments.
Neagley Finally Gets the Spotlight in Her Own Series
Although Neagley has primarily been Reacher's chief ally throughout his own series, she'll take the main spotlight in her new self-titled spin-off. In the first season of Neagley, the P.I. investigates the mysterious death of a childhood friend, who appears to have died by suicide. Neagley suspects foul play, leading her to investigate a potentially deadly conspiracy connected to the mysterious Echo Canyon Farm. Ritchson reprises his role as Reacher in Neagley, but only in a guest-starring capacity, as the series' new allies for Neagley include Chicago PD Detective Hudson Riley (Greyston Holt), Renee (Adeline Rudolph), a colleague at Neagley's investigative firm, and Keno (Jasper Jones), a young street hustler and con artist.
The most exciting aspect about Neagley is that series co-creator and executive producer Nick Santora, who also oversees the flagship series, plans to finally delve into the titular character's backstory, something that even Neagley's creator, author Lee Child, avoided when writing his Jack Reacher novels. As the author explained to The Wrap, "I didn’t want to go too deeply into what made her who she is. I felt that would burst the bubble somehow, so I shied away from it." Santora revealed that the series will explore "why [Neagley] became who she is," suggesting fans will finally get an answer for what caused Neagley's intense haphephobia in the first place.
The new chapter of the Reacher saga debuts September 16 on Prime Video, with all eight episodes available at launch.
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