We have already talked to “Team Bad” on Reacher Season 3, and we wanted to shed some light on what goes into being one of the good guys. This season sticks with some seriously kickass women, with Maria Sten back as Neagley and introducing Sonya Cassidy as Duffy, a DEA agent.
Reacher has always surrounded himself with strong women, and Reacher season 3 is no exception. Neagley is back in action, ready to be on the right side of justice, although she treads some gray area. Duffy, on the other hand, has a job she needs doing, and though she is on “Team Good,” she may have to cross some lines to make it work. Both Duffy and Neagley show “strong” in so many different ways this season. Sten and Cassidy talk to CGM about what goes into being a strong woman in an action series and how it feels to be on “Team Good.”
Thank you so much for being here with us today.
Maria Sten: Hello Dayna. Nice to meet you.
Sonya Cassidy: Hi, you too!
Reacher Season 3, we very much have “Team Good” and “Team Bad.” You’re both “Team Good.” How does it feel as far as the story goes this season?
Maria Sten: I think it’s fortunate that we’re both Team Good. I think that it would be very weird if suddenly we were not. Although I’m here for a female Reacher villain, I think that would be fantastic.
Sonya Cassidy: Yeah!
It’s time.
Maria Sten: I know, right? I’ve been saying that for a long time. I’d like more female villains, but I think, Sonya playing Duffy is, it’s a joy. And I think it’s wonderful to see two women in their own strength and their own toughness and autonomy be on the same side and work together. I think that’s great.
Sonya Cassidy: I think for me, there’s an amazing kind of nostalgic quality to the show that is, of those big blockbusters, you know, your Die Hard, your Lethal Weapons. Growing up, you watched and just loved and could settle into. But there weren’t many female roles. They weren’t. You know, there was a lot of damsels in distress at one time. And I think the show is fantastic because it has that nostalgic quality.
But the women in the show absolutely add even more layers of excitement and thrill and rage and passion and everything that other human beings can bring. And so it was very exciting to be adding to that. Again, in complete contrast to someone like Neagley as well, but two characters who really, very quickly see one another and respect one another and get on with the task in hand, which feels right for the show and was exciting to play.
Like you said, a lot of shows have damsels in distress. You’re both strong women. You’re both saviours half the time in Reacher, holding your own against someone like Alan Ritchson. What goes into preparing for something like that? How do you look just as tough as a man who looks like he could anyone whole?
Sonya Cassidy: Well, that’s interesting. I mean, strength can look any number of ways. And I think that’s a testament to the show of female strength and female passion and grit, and how a situation is dealt with, and how people cope with pressure. And there is so much pressure that these characters are under.
Women deal with that in different ways, and sometimes that’s in a very physical way, and in other times it’s not. And so I think it only adds more to the show to see a female element to the very complicated, dangerous problem that needs to be solved this season.
Maria was saying earlier: I think the lovely thing about Neagley as well is that, yes, she comes in and helps Reacher a lot, but I’ve always loved her point of view and what she has to bring in Reacher’s life, because that is also life. Sometimes, you need to bring a woman in to covertly save the day.
Always!
Sonya Cassidy: I think Neagley is that for me a lot of the time.
Maria Sten: We bring the perspective on things. Yes, I think that’s what she does well. And then, of course, we’ll support him and whatever he chooses to do. But I do think, yes, strength is a lot of different things. Strength can look different.
And I think with Neagley, we always say she’s the female version of Reacher. So it certainly looks different from Duffy’s strength, but that is sort of what I think is so wonderful that we get to see a multitude of what that may look like. And we have done that throughout the show, which I really appreciate.
Thank you very much for being here today. Reacher Season 3 is awesome.
Maria Sten: Thanks so much.
Sonya Cassidy: Thank you so much.
Reacher Season 3 premieres on Prime Video on February 20, 2025.
