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Viewed: Season 1

I can't say I followed the production of Reacher with any great interest, especially since news of a certain book series being adapted for TV drops at least twice a day and has begun to lose meaning. Luckily, my non-existent expectations were confidently surpassed with Amazon Prime's interpretation of the titular character, which nails the Jack Reacher of the books. Rather than someone of Tom Cruise's stature, we get the muscular monster that is Alan Ritchson, an intimidating presence who also proves himself as an actor. Plus, in stark contrast to the PG-13 movies, this is an extremely violent TV show which is, again, more faithful to the books. One standout sequence is the major action set-piece in the final episode which doesn't shy away from bloodshed, while some of the smaller action beats scattered throughout these debut 8 episodes are just as vicious. With the TV format, the show has ample time to develop these characters properly and authentically; aside from Reacher, both Finlay and Roscoe are fantastic characters, and it's easy to become invested in their respective fates. The series isn't perfect, and it's not like it ever becomes more than a skilful action-thriller story, but it's rock-solid and it's one of my favourite things currently on TV. I mean, it's not afraid to showcase a white man as a hero, there are no politics, and there's no unnecessary gender-swapping (looking at you, The Equalizer). I'm looking forward to many more seasons of this fantastic show. Between this and Jack Ryan, I've got a good reason to stay subscribed to Amazon Prime!