Alan Ritchson Was Nervous Reacher Season 4 Couldn't Top Season 3. Why That's No Longer The Case

Reacher outside at construction site at night in Reacher Season 3
(Image credit: Prime Video)

The anticipation for Reacher Season 4 is running high, and that’s especially true since Season 3 (which you can stream with an Amazon Prime subscription) was so good. Those kinds of expectations can be nerve-racking, though, as Alan Ritchson made very clear. However, he also explained how he got over his nerves about not being able to top Jack Reacher’s last outing.

Alan Ritchson is almost done filming Reacher Season 4, and during an interview with Collider, he opened up about its production and what’s to come. He was also candid about his expectations and concerns for the latest book-to-screen adaptation of Lee Child’s novels. Explaining why he was a little anxious going into Season 4, Ritchson said:

I’m always one to manage expectations. I want to have a really transparent, authentic, real relationship with my audience so they really know what to expect and can trust me. I was panicked coming out of Season 3, because it was so well executed for the audience’s experience. I felt like it was so in the wheelhouse for what Reacher is, and what that experience should be for audiences.

He makes a fair point; the love for Reacher Season 3 was real. The story was so solid, and the action was next level, in great part thanks to Ritchson facing off against Olivier Richters in a fight that they both called “the most physically demanding they’ve ever done.”

Now, the question is: How do they top it? It’s a question that made the Playdate actor nervous. However, after a conversation with showrunner Nick Santora, Ritchson was able to get over that worry by shifting his mindset. He explained:

I called my showrunner, worried. I was like, ‘We’re never going to be able to top this. It was so perfect for what we do.’ Now, everybody’s going to be disappointed going forward. And he’s like, ‘Well, you know, we just have to be different. We just have to keep trying to be different. We don’t need to top ourselves. Let’s just make it a new experience so people don’t know what to expect, because Reachers’ world, the trouble you can get into is so different.’

We know Season 4 will be based on the book Gone Tomorrow. In that novel, Reacher has to race through Manhattan as he’s chased by a bunch of folks trying to kill him. It sounds absolutely epic and different from the last season, which focused on the titular character infiltrating a home to take down an enemy.

Alan Ritchson noted that, too. He is excited about how different Season 4 is, and he can’t wait to surprise audiences. He also thinks it’s their best season yet, as he said:

And this is so different, and so unexpected, and it is for sure the best season we’ve ever made by a long shot.

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He ended by saying he can’t wait for people to see the season. And how his apprehension turned into utter confidence, also makes me thrilled to watch these new episodes.

Also, when Ritchson did this interview, he noted that they only had a week left in production. So, Reacher Season 4 is well on its way to audiences, and considering its lead actor has shot most of it now, his confidence is very exciting, because he knows what everything looks like.

So, get stoked, folks. It sounds like we’re in for something special when Reacher Season 4 premieres on Prime Video.

Riley Utley
Weekend Editor

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.

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