Frances Neagley has been a fixture on Prime Video's Reacher for several seasons, even popping up when there's no precedent in the books. But both the show and the many (many) Lee Child novels have yet to fill in Neagley's mysterious backstory. Until now, that is.
Dropping at the same time as the Reacher season 4 finale and set immediately after the events of the latest season, eight-episode spin-off series Neagley is all about the one-time member of Jack Reacher's Special Investigations Unit. The two shows are closely connected then, but speaking with GamesRadar+ in London, star Maria Sten explains how the spin-off's "emotional" exploration of Neagley's past trauma is what separates the new series from the hard-hitting mothership show.
"I was blown away by the creativity and the sensitivity about what we were gonna make the season about, which is, of course, we want to answer Neagley's backstory," says Sten, who has played Neagley since the character's first appearance way back in Reacher season 1. "I was very impressed with how they managed to weave in this very emotional story into this splashy action thriller show."
Long-running Reacher fans will know that Neagley has haphephobia – a fear of being touched. Not only is this explored in the show, so is her relationship with Tommy Crane – a childhood friend of Neagley's who dies under very suspicious circumstances, sending Neagley on an inevitably violent mission to uncover the truth.
However, unlike every season of Reacher so far, each of which has adapted a single Lee Child book, Neagley tells an original story in the Reacher-verse. Sten notes that everyone involved felt a keen sense of responsibility to stay true to Child's world and characters, even as they forged their own path.
"To me, that was the most important thing; you have to honour the foundation. There's a reason why these books are so popular," Sten says. "But, also, I felt when I read the books that there was always more than meets the eye with Neagley. She was very, very clear to me when I read the books, even though everyone was talking about how [Child] never reveals her backstory. We're expanding upon it, and we're deepening her story, and we're showing the secret sides of her, the ones that she doesn't show anyone. But ultimately it still has to be the same character.
So that was very, very important to me."
Neagley streams on Prime Video from September 16. Fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the most exciting new TV shows on the horizon.
