Author Lee Child recently shared why he finds Reacher Season 3 “annoying,” but it’s not for the reasons you might think. Child first brought Jack Reacher to life in the 1997 novel Killing Floor, and has since published 28 more books in the series, with a 30th to come later this year. Following two film adaptations that starred Tom Cruise, Prime Video‘s series began in 2022, and has thus far been a big hit with fans and critics.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Child got candid about his thoughts on Reacher Season 3, which adapts the seventh book in his series, Persuader. Premiering on Feb. 20, the latest season is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 97% rating from critics, and its Popcornmeter sits at a strong 76% rating from fans. For Child, he says the reason he’s so annoyed with things is that creator Nick Santora has managed to surpass the vision he had in his head while writing the book.

“It is really annoying when they do it better than I did it. I’m really hard-pressed to say what they’ve taken out, which is a tribute in itself because that proves that it has worked without leaving gaps or leaving things missing. The transitions obviously are very different because certain things have to be compressed or changed in some way, and most of them are great, and some of them are better than I wrote in the first place. It’s a tribute to the skill of [showrunner] Nick Santora and the writing room.”

Reacher Season 3 sees the return of star Alan Ritchson as the titular nomad, who this time finds himself thrust into the dark heart of a vast criminal enterprise when trying to rescue an undercover DEA informant whose time is running out. Also back is Maria Sten as his trusted cohort Frances Neagley, and together the pair are joined by newcomers Anthony Michael Hall, Oliver Richters, Brian Tee, and Sonya Cassidy.

Lee Child Calls Maria Sten the “Surprise Star” of ‘Reacher’

Fans of Child’s books will note that in the novels, Reacher plays out everything in his head before he takes down the bad guys. The action is swift and internal as he thinks things over, which doesn’t necessarily translate well to television. “You cannot do that on the screen,” he said. “You can’t have Reacher sitting there for eight minutes puzzling something out — that’s really bad television.” He’s not lying, which is why Sten’s character of Neagley is such a pivotal part of the show, because she helps bring Reacher’s thoughts to life for the viewer. Child went so far as to call her the “surprise star” of the series, which comes as no shock to fans as it’s already been revealed that she will be getting her own spinoff.

“We need an intimate partner, somebody that he really knows and really trusts that they can have the back-and-forth that illustrates what he’s thinking. Alan is fantastic of course, but the thing that has pleased me most is how good she is. Maria Sten is just the surprise star of the show to me.”

The first four episodes of Reacher Season 3 are streaming now on Prime Video, and watch for the remaining four to drop weekly until its conclusion on March 27. Look for Child’s next book in his series, Exit Strategy, to land in bookstores on Oct. 21, 2025.