A big hit for Amazon Prime Video and a major course correction for the IP’s fans, Reacher is a stone-cold winner that, even with the shuttering of Paramount Television, looks to have a bright, even expansive, future. There’s certainly no shortage of source material to adapt. And, as seen in the tonal and structural differences between the first two seasons, not all of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books are, one, easily adaptable, and, two, narratively linear.
That should make for great variety should the show prove to have longevity, which, given its strong ratings, seems likely. It also means that there are plenty of different villains and supporting characters to choose from. And, when it comes to Reacher, everyone who isn’t Reacher is a supporting character. Let’s take a look at the best supporting characters seen throughout the first two seasons, ranked by memorability.
10 Picard
Played by Martin Roach
Whereas Season 1’s Oscar Finlay is an upstanding law enforcement officer, his old pal Picard is the opposite. An FBI Special Agent passing himself off as someone doing a favor, Picard is actually one of the very people Finlay, Reacher, and Roscoe are pursuing. He is, in fact, a member of the Kliners’ counterfeiting grift.
False Face and Faux Altruism
Finlay calls Picard in to protect Charlie Hubble, the wife of the seemingly-dead accountant, Paul. Paul was used by the counterfeiting organization to do their dirty work, and has been on the run ever since. And, now, alongside KJ Kliner and Grover Teale, Picard is looking to tie up loose ends. His betrayal is a memorable one, and Martin Roach’s performance sells it.
9 Gaitano Russo
Played by Domenick Lombardozzi
The core of the Jack Reacher IP is the inability to know who to trust. Reacher’s a lone wolf, and the only people he even slightly trusts are those with whom he’s worked in the past (specifically, the members of the 110th). Sometimes, though, there’s a seemingly untrustworthy individual who gives Reacher a hard time but, in all actuality, is just trying to seek the same justice he is.
He’s A Pain, But His Heart’s In the Right Place
That’s Gaitano Russo to the letter. A NYPD Detective investigating the murder of former 110th MP Special Investigations Officer, Russo is abrasive and often gets in the way of Reacher, Karla Dixon, and David O’Donnell, with the first time even resulting in Reacher knocking him unconscious. But, in time, the remaining 110th members come to begrudgingly trust him, at least until the moment his investigation leads to his death.
8 Shane Langston
Played by Robert Patrick
Robert Patrick’s Shane Langston was initially an NYPD Detective before taking on a more lucrative gig as Head of Security for New Age Technologies. Thanks to his experience as a corrupt law enforcement officer and connections, Langston learned of a project called Little Wing, which is a revolutionary Surface to Air Missile. He wants to steal some of them and sell them off, but once the 110th learns of this plot, Langston feels he needs to start dropping them out of planes.
The Second Big Bad
It’s interesting to imagine how it would have played if Shane Langston was portrayed by the initially intended actor: Dazed & Confused‘s Rory Cochrane. T2‘s Robert Patrick, naturally, has greater experience playing villains, but Cochrane is an equally ranged performer. Either way, once Langston starts to take more spotlight in Season 2, Patrick sells his cold-hearted nature.
7 Grover Teale
Played by Bruce McGill
As anyone who’s ever read Persuader knows, Season 3 will likely feature a fakeout big bad. But, like the book that inspired the freshman year, Killing Floor (which just so happens to have been the first book), Season 1’s is fairly obvious from the get-go. But it isn’t Grover Teale, even if he’s the oldest of the villains.
The First Secondary
Teale is the Mayor of the city of Margrave, that is when he isn’t moonlighting as a major part of KJ Kliner’s criminal enterprise. So, not obviously the season’s big bad, but still obviously bad, thanks to Bruce McGill’s icy, faux-charming performance. He’s more the one who uses his seniority to get people off Kliner’s case, literally.
6 David O’Donnell
Played by Shaun Sipos
Like several others on this list, David O’Donnell was a part of the Reacher-led 110th MP Special Investigations Unit. He, alongside Reacher, Karla Dixon, and Frances Neagley, investigates the deaths of his former colleagues, sometimes bringing in his skills as a lawyer to assist. O’Donnell is a capable fighter, but he also has a sense of humor, frequently bouncing off the ever-stoic Reacher.
A Solid Teammate
Of the surviving 110th members, O’Donnell is the most personable. He’ll crack a joke about Reacher’s methods or taste in music, but he’s not all fun and games. He’s someone Reacher wants alongside him in a fight, and that speaks volumes.
5 KJ Kliner
Played by Chris Webster
When it comes to big bads, it’s going to be hard to top Season 1’s KJ Kliner. Though, given the one in Season 3’s equally personal connection to Reacher, Kliner will certainly get a run for his much-treasured money. And, yet, Kliner is still the one who killed Reacher’s brother, Joe.
Smarmy to the Max
Joe’s death is something that sticks with Reacher no matter whether it’s book one, five, or twenty-five. And Chris Webster turns in a performance so frightening that the audience truly believes this man is capable of multiple murders, all for the sake of money. Including murdering his own father.
4 Karla Dixon
Played by Serinda Swan
If Ritchson keeps portraying Reacher for years and years to come, Karla Dixon actor Serinda Swan is going to have to come back at some point. Dixon was essentially Reacher’s number two in the 110th MP Special Investigations Unit, and she’s every bit the wrecking ball he is. She’s also the closest Reacher has ever come (in the books or series) to settling down with.
Unrequited Love, at First
Reacher sleeps with Roscoe Conklin in the first season, but his doing so with Dixon was far more of a work in progress. She’d shown interest in the past, but he was fully professional and shot it down. Once they’re investigating the death of a few 110th members, however, they’re off the clock, as it were, and finally get intimate. Neither one of them reveals via expression or voice that it’s meaningful, but one gets that sense. One also gets the sense that neither of them will settle down and get married but, if they were to do so, it would be with each other.
3 Oscar Finlay
Played by Malcolm Goodwin
Oscar Finlay makes a great match for Reacher. Both are fish out of water, but Reacher is perpetually so. Finlay is a seasoned cop who takes the position of Chief of detectives in the Margrave Police Department, which is a place he’s warned he won’t be welcome.
By the Book
Finlay is by the book and doesn’t trust Reacher at first. But, being by the book means he wants justice, and he comes to learn that so does Reacher. Corruption runs rampant around him, and Reacher is the one shining a spotlight on it. If Finlay has to tolerate his taller, bigger pseudo-colleague’s punch-throwing, well, that’s just the way it goes.
2 Frances Neagley
Played by Maria Sten
Very few characters pop up more than once in Lee (and Andrew) Child’s Jack Reacher books, but former Master Sergeant Frances Neagley is one of them. Reacher doesn’t have many rocks in his life, if any at all, except for Neagley. She’s the one he can call if a case he’s just stumbled into has some pieces he alone can’t put in the correct place.
Arguably the Book Series’ Second-Most Important Character
Like Reacher, Neagley is somewhat of an enigma. She can’t stand to be physically touched, yet doesn’t elaborate as to why. She doesn’t want to talk about it, and Reacher doesn’t ask. That’s why they work so well together, they understand each other’s boundaries and respect them.
Neagley appeared in four Reacher books: Without Fail, Bad Luck and Trouble (upon which Season 2 is based), The Affair, and Night School. And, yet, she had a brief role in Season 1 and will have a role in Season 3, so it seems the series understands her importance and is making her an even more frequent presence than the books.
1 Roscoe Conklin
Played by Willa Fitzgerald
Thanks to the wonderful Willa Fitzgerald’s utterly believable, powerhouse performance, the best character in Reacher‘s first season arguably isn’t the title one. Roscoe Conklin is a Margrave Police Department officer who, like Finlay, is by the book. However, in comparison to Finlay, she’s a bit less leery of Reacher from the beginning, even if she possesses a similar aversion to his punch first and ask questions later method.
A Real Trooper
Conklin is just stone-cold likable throughout. She’s also interesting given her personal connection to the case (someone she cared for and who cared for her was murdered by Grover Teale). It’s as satisfying as can be to see Conklin exact her vengeance and come full circle.
On one hand, her narrative is complete, and the only book she appeared in was Killing Floor, but if Reacher can buoy the presence of Neagley actor Maria Sten, perhaps there can be something down the line for Fitzgerald, provided her star doesn’t skyrocket and availability becomes an issue (as it should).