Chicago has a new private investigator. And she hits considerably harder than most. Prime Video has expanded the world of Reacher with Neagley, the first spinoff built around Maria Sten’s Frances Neagley, Jack Reacher’s former military colleague who now works as a private investigator in Chicago.
All eight episodes, interiors filmed in Toronto and key exteriors filmed in Chicago, debuted September 16, immediately following the Season 4 finale of Reacher, giving one of that series’ most popular supporting characters the center of her own action-thriller.
This time, Chicago isn’t merely a stop on Reacher’s wandering itinerary. It is Neagley’s home base.
The series finds the former member of the Army’s 110th Special Investigations Unit working as a Chicago PI when she learns that a childhood friend has died under suspicious circumstances. Convinced the death was no accident, Neagley begins an investigation that puts her on the trail of something far larger – and considerably more dangerous – than she expected.
The Chicago setting is established immediately. The series opens at an EL station in the Loop, where a young man behaves strangely before climbing onto the tracks. From there, Neagley’s investigation brings her into contact with Chicago police detective Hudson “Rats” Riley and sends her moving through the city in a Mercury Marauder.
For Reacher viewers, Sten is hardly an unfamiliar face. Neagley has become one of the franchise’s key recurring characters, a highly skilled investigator whose history with Reacher makes her one of the few people he genuinely trusts.
But the spinoff is designed to give her an identity beyond simply being “Reacher’s friend.”
Sten leads an ensemble that includes Greyston Holt as Detective Hudson Riley, Adeline Rudolph as Renee Birdwhistle, Jasper Jones as Keno, Matthew Del Negro as Pierce Woodrow, and Damon Herriman as Lawrence Cole. Alan Ritchson guest stars as Jack Reacher.
ALSO READ:
Reacher spinoff series Neagley spotted filming at the Cubs-White Sox game
Early response suggests the character can carry the franchise without him. As of September 19, the first season held a 92% Certified Fresh critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, while its audience score stood at 84%, according to ScreenRant. The outlet also reported the series had climbed to No. 2 among Prime Video television shows worldwide during its first days of release.
The series also breaks a recent audience trend for the Reacher franchise. ScreenRant noted that audience scores had declined with each successive season of the original show, while Neagley reversed that trajectory with a stronger audience score than Reacher Season 4.
And Chicago gives the spinoff a very different flavor from its wandering parent series.
Reacher is famously a man with no home, moving from town to town with little more than a toothbrush. Neagley has roots, a job, and a city. That allows the franchise to build an investigative world around her rather than simply drop her into another temporary destination.
The series is based on the character created by Lee Child and is produced by Paramount Television Studios and Amazon MGM Studios. Reacher executive producer Nick Santora and Nicholas Wootton created the spinoff and serve as co-showrunners and executive producers.
Child, Don Granger, Sam Hill, Adam Higgs and Lisa Kussner also executive produce.
For Chicago viewers, though, the hook is simpler. The Reacher universe finally has a permanent address.
And Frances Neagley appears perfectly comfortable owning the neighborhood.
