7 Alan Ritchson Movies & TV Shows Reacher Fans Will Love

Published Nov 9, 2026, 8:30 PM EST

Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones. 

You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep."

Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant. 

When Reacher first aired, it appeared to many that Alan Ritchson exploded onto the screen and has barely left since, but while Reacher might be Ritchson's best TV show, his onscreen career began 20 years ago. His early roles made use of his distinctive height and physique, with the younger actor playing Aquaman in the superhero TV series Smallville, Gloss in The Hunger Games franchise, and having his first major role as the linebacker Kevin "Thad" Castle in the TV sitcom Blue Mountain State. However, Reacher then became a gamechanger for the actor.

Reacher instantly drew attention for featuring a more faithful portrayal of Lee Child's iconic character than in Tom Cruise's movies, but the show made some significant changes from the books, allowing Ritchson more versatility. Despite being somewhat typecast, Prime Video's best action series gave him the role that he was born to play, making him into one of the decade's biggest action stars and highlighting his other movies and TV shows both before and since that are must-watches for Reacher fans.

Blood Drive

Credit: MovieStillsDB

Syfy's gritty, ridiculous sci-fi action TV series is Fallout meets Mad Max, with a side of Death Race. In the dystopian future of an alternate 1999, gasoline and water are ruinously expensive and a mysterious corporation oversees virtually every aspect of daily life. Ritchson plays Los Angeles police officer Arthur "Barbie" Bailey, who is forced to enter the titular "Blood Drive," a race in which the cars run on human blood. The show, which is as gory as its description suggests, was canceled after one season, but it has a surprising 86% positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

A few scenes in season 4 saw Reacher becoming a horror show, but it is firmly grounded in the action genre. That said, the series has become known for its improbable and often hilarious fight scenes, which see Reacher using virtually any object in reach to deal devastating impact. Fans who love this aspect of the series and enjoy the Mad Max franchise should not miss Blood Drive for more of the same, but with even wilder twists.

Titans

After playing Aquaman in Smallville and voicing Raphael in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Ritchson plays his third superhero role in HBO's 49-episode action series, Titans. Ritchson appeared as Hank Hall, aka Hawk, in the first season of the show, with his role being expanded for the second and third seasons. With the show being based on the DC Comics Teen Titans characters, it may not come as a surprise that its target audience skews younger than Reacher's, but the series is well worth watching.

One of Alan Ritchson's most unusual roles has been his work as the body model for Beowulf in the 2007 movie of the same name.

Titans might be aimed at slightly younger viewers but it is by no means a kids' show, and essential viewing for fans of the DC Universe. It is violent, intense, and with Reacher estimated to return in 2027, this leaves more than enough time to start the series. Ritchson gets to play a vigilante with plenty of opportunity to beat up bad guys, but as part of a team rather than carrying the entire series. Titans also stars Titus Welliver (Bosch,) Anna Diop (Us,) and Esai Morales (How to Get Away with Murder.)

Runner

Image credit: Angel/Courtesy Everett Collection

The 2026 action comedy movie Runner sees Ritchson starring along Owen Wilson in a race against time, as the two must make an important delivery while being pursued by dangerous enemies. Reacher has cemented Alan Ritchson firmly within a certain type of role, and he plays it very well. In Runner's case, he is a former Special Forces operative, who prefers to keep his own company and has strained relationships with people from his past. Working as a transporter of legal and illegal items, this assignment sees him in charge of a human liver.

With the liver intended for transplant and the cartel in pursuit, the movie is fast-paced, often hilarious, and features a very similar dynamic to the Reacher series, with Ritchson's character acting as the protector and initially reluctant friend to a physically weaker character with skills of his own. Reacher fans will enjoy Runner for its impressive stunts and old-school action tone, and while it was less well-received with Rotten Tomatoes critics, who gave the movie a still-solid 78% positive score, audiences rated it 89%.

Motor City

Motor City might have received middling Rotten Tomatoes ratings from both critics and audiences on its initial release, but Alan Ritchson's gritty revenge thriller has conquered streaming instead. The movie, which also stars Shailene Woodley (Divergent) and Lionel Boyce (The Bear,) follows John Miller (Ritchson,) who breaks out of prison after being framed, and sets off on a revenge mission against the gangster who framed him and stole his girlfriend.

Aside from being action-heavy, Motor City has a surprising detail in common with Reacher, as both Ritchson's characters rarely speak. This is one of the defining features of Jack Reacher as imagined by Lee Child, but the series made some necessary changes, giving the character more dialogue to replace the books series' interior monologues. People who wanted to see a more accurate version of Reacher in this respect should watch Motor City, which features almost no dialogue at all.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

The moments in which Reacher takes down an impressive line-up of opponents single-handedly are some of the best in the series, but the few scenes that show him as part of a group are some of the most heartwarming. With Reacher being a drifter who avoids relationships, the series rarely offers scenes like the ones in season 2 that introduce the dynamic within the 110th Special Investigators, but The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has plenty. Based on the book of the same name, the movie follows the first-ever Special Forces organization, comprized of a team of misfits using unconventional strategies.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare became Netflix's top movie in September, and its stacked cast and genre mix have earned it a 91% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Ritchson plays Major Anders Larssen, the glasses-wearing weapons expert whose skill with a bow and arrow reflects the abilities of his real-life inspiration. Like Reacher, Larssen is a man of few words, but Ritchson still trained with a dialect coach to perfect his Danish accent, and described Larssen as "the baddest dude I’ve ever seen on paper in my life" in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Neagley

Image courtesy of MovieStillsDb

The reaction to the announcement of a Neagley-centered spinoff was mixed, with people who loved Maria Sten's portrayal of the iconic character excited to see more of her, while others were concerned that Neagley might not be able to carry an entire show alone. These concerns were quickly laid to rest, with Neagley being a fantastic action series even without Reacher's constant presence, and a perfect replacement for Reacher as we wait for the next season. Unlike most of the movies and TV shows on this list, Alan Ritchson is barely seen, but this was an excellent creative decision.

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Neagley was allowed to develop as a character and series without living in Reacher's shadow, so by the time Ritchson reprised his career-defining role, Neagley had already claimed a place among Prime Video's greatest action TV shows. With Neagley renewed for a second season, it remains to be seen how much of a role Ritchson will play, but many fans of both series hope for a few more crossovers, with their dynamic bringing out the best in both characters and actors.

War Machine

War Machine is as close to a sci-fi Reacher movie as it is possible to get. Instead of insidious government conspiracies and smaller scale villains terrorizing their towns, Ritchson's nameless character is up against a far greater threat. The Reacher star's R-rated thriller sees with a gruelling military training excercise turn into a fight for survival against a machine that starts targeting and killing the team, resulting in reviewers comparing the movie to Predator, Terminator, and War of the Worlds.

Known only as 81, Ritchson plays a Staff Sergeant on a mission to pass training and prove himself as a Ranger, but while he is physically one of the strongest people in the group, he does not bond with them, preferring to work alone until the threat from the machine drastically changes the team's dynamic. The movie received middling Rotten Tomatoes scores, but it is a lot of fun, especially for fans of both Reacher and sci-fi, and a sequel is now reportedly in progress.

Reacher