While Reacher is currently a standout show on Prime Video, another series on the platform actually points out an area where Reacher could improve. Although it doesn’t have as large a fanbase, there are understandable reasons for that. Despite all of Reacher‘s good qualities, it hasn’t fully developed one particular aspect – but it still has time to do so. Reacher has become a huge hit since its debut in early 2022, but it’s part of a long-running franchise that has experienced similar surges in popularity before.
Lee Child’s debut novel, Killing Floor, introduced Jack Reacher in 1997. By the 2010s, Child had written numerous follow-up books, leading Paramount to create two films starring Tom Cruise. However, the recent Prime Video series has become much more popular than those films, and is even gaining a larger following than the original books. Despite its success, it’s interesting to note how this Amazon series is handling the adaptation compared to other similar projects.
‘Cross’ Is Similar To ‘Reacher’ in a Lot of Ways
Even before the show started, Reacher already had a dedicated following, aside from fans of the Tom Cruise films. With 30 Jack Reacher novels already published, and more planned, Amazon has a virtually endless supply of stories to adapt. Each season covers a single book, making a 30th season seem highly unlikely. It’s unusual for a TV show to have so many source novels available, and that provides a lot of creative possibilities.
The Cross series is very much like Reacher. James Patterson has written about 30 Alex Cross novels, and the show on Prime Video focuses on the main character. The biggest difference is that Alex Cross is a working homicide detective, while Jack Reacher is a retired military police officer who tries—though doesn’t always succeed—to live a quiet, wandering life. However, both shows share the episodic nature of the books they’re based on, though the TV adaptations try harder to create a continuous, connected storyline.
Why ‘Cross’ Has a Notable Edge Over ‘Reacher’
Amazon Prime Video
As a long-time fan of the Reacher novels, I’ve noticed most adaptations – even the Tom Cruise films – tend to cover one book across two episodes. It’s understandable, really; Lee Child has given them so much material to work with, and even after Season 4, there are still over 20 novels they could potentially adapt. That’s why I was so surprised by Cross. Instead of drawing directly from the books, the show has built completely original stories using characters and settings inspired by James Patterson’s work. It’s a bold move, and a refreshing change of pace!
While three films – Kiss the Girls (1997), Along Came a Spider (2001), and Alex Cross (2012) – were based on James Patterson’s novels, none of them were successful at the box office.
One of the best things about Cross is that both longtime fans of the source material and newcomers can enjoy it equally. The stories are genuinely surprising because they aren’t based on pre-existing plots from the books. Reacher is quite different; while the show makes minor changes, the main storylines closely follow the books. This means that if you’ve already read the book a Reacher episode is based on, you’ll likely know what happens, reducing the suspense. It’s also easy to accidentally find spoilers online that could ruin the experience. Cross avoids this problem entirely.
I’d Love To See ‘Reacher’ Attempt at Least One Original Story Before It Ends
Prime Video
It looks like the Reacher series will continue for a long time, and there are enough Jack Reacher novels to keep it going even after the show ends. This raises the question: is it worth carefully choosing only the best books to adapt? While it’s tempting to do that, the showrunner, Nick Santora, could easily follow the example of the Cross series and pull from a wider range of stories. There’s a clear pattern to writing a Reacher novel, but with so many examples available, it’s definitely possible to keep creating new content.
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It seems ‘Cross’ is taking a chance with its story because previous adaptations haven’t succeeded, but so far, this new approach is working. ‘Reacher’ has consistently demonstrated that the character and his world translate well to both film and television. The natural next move for the series is to move beyond the established storylines and venture into new territory with Alan Ritchson’s Reacher. While I understand why the show might stick to what’s proven, I would be a little disappointed if it didn’t try something new.
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2026-02-18 15:40