The first season of the Reacher spinoff, Neagley, premiered on September 16th on Prime Video. The season explores a new format for those who already watch Reacher and focuses on recurring character Neagley during her time between visits with Reacher. Throughout the season, she forms a bond with a team of characters, and by the end of the season, it looks like some of them might just stick around for future seasons.
I was able to sit down with the core cast of Neagley ahead of the season one launch to talk more about their experience with the show. Marie Sten, Greyston Holt, Adeline Rudolph, and Jasper Jones discuss what it was like creating this new world in the Reacher universe, getting a deeper look at Neagley herself, and they even left some big hints as to what episodes of Neagley Season 1 to watch out for.
To get started, how does it feel to bring Neagley into her spotlight and dig deeper into that character, Maria?
Maria Sten: It’s exciting. It’s wonderful to get this opportunity. I’m incredibly grateful that we get to dive deeper with Neagley. I’ve been living with her for a while now and have so many nuances that I’ve worked through in doing the character work for her, to be able to play her on Reacher. So it’s exciting to share those nuances with the world and really show Neagley’s world and how the world looks through her lens.
And for the rest of you, in the same vein—how does it feel to join Neagley in this world that already exists, but still be in a bit of a bubble with new characters?
Greyston Holt: It’s an incredible feeling. Reacher is such a massive worldwide sensation, and to be a part of that in any way—let alone being the male lead on the spinoff with Maria, who plays such a beloved character—is a pinch‑me moment. The whole ride has been surreal. I love my character. I love our cast, our crew. The whole thing has been wonderful.
Jasper Jones: It’s super exciting. It’s a bombastic season one, so it’s pretty cool to be part of something that’s such a spectacle.
Adeline Rudolph: And also part of something that I feel like people have been wanting to see as well. I think people have been craving to know more about Neagley, and to be able to jump into this world with these exciting characters and build out all these relationships — it’s been a lot of fun.
Jasper Jones: Talking about that anticipation — I’m from Texas, and people love Reacher there. If I brought up Reacher to people in Texas way early on, before we even shot Neagley, they would be like, “Oh yeah, the spinoff is coming out.” They read the first article that came out about Neagley, the spinoff. It’s pretty cool.
You mentioned loving your cast and your crew. Reacher changes every season, but you’re getting to build a world with people we might see again. How do you do that on set? Are you building a bond differently than you would have on Reacher? Are you hoping to keep these relationships across all seasons?
Maria Sten: Yeah. Knowing that if the show continues, we’re going to stick around with these characters longer creates a different kind of bonding experience than working on Reacher, because Reacher is an anthology—it’s in and out. It definitely creates a different bond. And it just so happened that the four of us—me, Greyston, Jasper Jones, and Adeline Rudolph—got along really well from the beginning. It felt like a natural bonding experience, but also knowing that, okay, this is the family. So we have to infuse it with something a little more permanent than if we were on Reacher.
Did our new characters need to do any research into the previous Reacher season or the books, or did you just jump into this as something fresh for yourselves?
Jasper Jones: I definitely watched it so many times because I wanted to nail the rhythm. The rhythm felt very similar in a lot of ways, so I wanted to have that as a tactile tool in my kit. So yeah, I rewatched it so many times.
Adeline Rudolph: Similarly, of course we have the same amazing creators — Nick Wootton, Nick Santora — so to have a reference point, I think it was important to watch the show. But having said that, I also feel like Neagley brings something new to the table. So it was having the source material, but also understanding that this is such a separate show, and we get to really dive into Neagley’s backstory a little bit more. I think the pace is similar, but the tone is a little bit different in this season. I’m really excited for people to dive into this new world and get to know her better.
Maria and Greyston’s characters are both leaders, taking these protégés under their wings, even if it’s a little reluctantly at times. Do you think that’s going to carry on into future seasons of Neagley, or are we now on an even playing field?
Greyston Holt: I think we’ll always have testy moments. Our relationships will always be put to the test through various scenarios and villains and foes. It’s not all going to be sunshine and daisies—and that wouldn’t be very dynamic television. That’s what’s great about our show: growing with these characters and seeing them put in tense, dire situations, and how we come out the other side.
Maria Sten: And I also think they all have different arcs. They all have different journeys they have to go on, and they will continue to be challenged. We’re not resolved at the end of the season, so there’s plenty of room to grow for everyone.
Jasper Jones: I don’t know.
Adeline Rudolph: I think they need guidance.
Jasper Jones: Yeah, I like Neagley‑in‑charge guidance.
Adeline Rudolph: Just like in real life, I don’t think you learn things in a span of a couple of months. But I definitely think we’ll see a progression in some way — ways in which they can probably help out.
Jasper Jones: I’d imagine they become stronger pillars to support Neagley.
Perfect. And do you have any favourite moments from filming Neagley that you can share?
Maria Sten: There are so many. I love the finale—there are so many good moments in it, both from an action standpoint and from the emotional catharsis of tying up this crazy journey we’ve been on. I also like our first scene with all four of us together. It’s a great, fun one. And I love episode five and the crazy bottle‑episode structure of it. I think it’s so creative—and of course, Neagley’s journey in that episode as well.
Greyston Holt: Same for me. It’s always so hard to pick your favourite moments. What I will say is the show—yeah, I think episode five is particularly good. They’re all fantastic, but the pace with which the show ramps up is exponential. We start here, and that arc just goes straight up by the end. You really get drawn in. It’s cliffhangers after every episode. It’s all eight episodes, September 16th on Amazon. Binge it. It’s very binge‑worthy. But that doesn’t really answer your question in terms of a specific moment—the whole ride was amazing.
Adeline Rudolph: I’ll leave it at this: I think we can somewhat agree that one of our favourite episodes is episode five, for a lot of reasons.
Jasper Jones: Yeah. And episode eight as well.
Adeline Rudolph: Yes.
Jasper Jones: Episode five and eight. If I will say, though — in the pilot. The pilot. The cereal scene in the pilot is like—yeah. That was awesome, to be with everybody, because we all kind of dispersed afterwards. But the whole show is kind of based almost on Neagley, but she has this new ensemble around her too. So we all got to play together, and that was just magical.
Amazing. Thank you so much. And it was binge‑worthy, and I did binge it—so fantastic.
All eight episodes of Neagley are streaming now on Prime Video.
