The Jack Reacher series of bestselling books have been an indelible part of pop culture. After the film franchise, the Reacher series on television has also found many takers, with Prime Video now all set to release Season 2. The series, called Reacher, stars Alan Ritchson in the title role of a former military man with formidable qualities. Lee Child, the author of the Reacher books, serves as one of the executive producers of the series.

With Season 2 all set to stream on December 15, t2 chatted with Lee Child over a video call on the enduring success of Jack Reacher, what makes him a different hero and the funny story behind the origin of the title Reacher.

The first season of Reacher was a huge success and broke quite a few viewership records. What was the best compliment that came your way then?

There were so many good comments and I was so happy that people were enjoying it. I think the best compliment was that people thought it was as good as the book, the fact that the series didn't let the book down. And that's a tribute really to the people that made the show, many of whom are also Reacher fans. They don't have to do this, they are doing it because they want to. And they put heart and soul into it.

Lee Child, the writer of the bestselling Jack Reacher series, speaks to t2 ahead of the premiere of Reacher S2 this Friday

That's a tall ask, right? Normally we don't get to see a lot of films or series that live up to the book.

Maybe because they didn't do it as well as we did with Reacher Season One. But yes, the book is different in as much as the reader's head is involved. With the book, the reader's brain is actually creating the story. Whereas for television, the makers are presenting the story, which is a slightly different intellectual transaction.

But the aim is always the same. To have a story taking place that people are thrilled by, scared by, anxious about and can't wait to see what happens. And that is what you have got to do in either medium. I think I did it good in the book and I think they did it great on television.

With a lot of help from you...

I don't know. Though I used to work on television, it was a long time ago. And this new concept of long-form streaming, binge-television is a new invention that has happened since I left (working on TV). And so I am pretty aware that I don't know how to do it on screen and that the modern generation of TV people do know how to do it. I am a fan of the show... that is my main role. I love to watch it and I love to watch them doing it.

You would definitely agree that the book naturally lends itself to long-format storytelling...

Absolutely! It is such a luxury to have eight hours to tell the story. A total luxury because a movie is about an hour-and-a-half of content. It can be great, but you have to squash it in. With eight hours, you can do all the light and shade, you can do the slow parts as well as the fast parts. You can do the sad parts. You can do the whole novel experience because you have time. And that's just a lovely, lovely thing. I think it does feel like a novel. It starts and it tells the story and it finishes in about the same time. So yes, it feels more natural as the home of a novel.

In your opinion, what makes Alan Ritchson the ideal pick to play Reacher?

There is something there, isn't there? Somehow you know that this is Reacher and that he is going to do 'Reacher' things. It is a lot of different things, actually. But I think mostly Alan is a rare actor who is comfortable to be not acting. He is comfortable to be quiet. And that is very much who Reacher is. Reacher doesn't have to be talking all the time. Reacher goes minutes without saying anything. And Alan handles that very well. He can be somebody without talking, which is a visual skill that is quite rare.

When you first wrote Reacher, back in the 1990s, did you think it would spin off into a book series, a film franchise with Tom Cruise and now a TV series?

Well, 'think' is a big word. I had hoped and I had wished... I wanted all of those things. I wanted that to happen. But you can't say it is going to happen because it is a lottery. You have no idea what is going to work or not work. It is a gamble. And so if I had said: 'I expect that 25 years from now, this will be massive on television', I would have been crazy! You can't predict that. But sure, I wanted it and it is really nice that we have arrived at that point.

What do you think makes Reacher stand out as a hero?

He is closer to the ancient human myth of the mysterious stranger. In every culture — I am sure you have it in the Indian narrative too — there is a mystery. Let's say that you have got into trouble and you are desperate. And this mysterious person comes to your door and is your champion and solves your problem and then rides off into the sunset. Every culture has that same myth. Reacher is very close to that. He's not brought into the modern era and he is not civilised with a job and a partner. But he is not a loner with a dog and a house tucked away and all that kind of stuff. He is just boiled down to the elemental myth of the noble loner. I think he stays very close to our human desire. We want that person to help us.

You apparently arrived at the name 'Reacher' pretty funnily while out grocery shopping. What's that story?

Actually, It was a very tense time for us. I had just lost my job. We had a kid and a mortgage. I had no money coming in. And so the whole family was pretty anxious. We went to the supermarket one day. And every time I go to the supermarket, there's always a little old lady who says to me: 'Oh, you are a tall gentleman. Would you reach me that can?' And my wife said: 'You know what, if this writing gig doesn't work out, you could be a 'reacher' in a supermarket.' And I thought, that's a great name! Who knew that it would kind of translate into this, right?

Is that how a lot of your ideas also come to you? I am sure observation plays a big role...

It does. Writers are just nosy and observant (smiles). We are constantly much more interested in other people than in ourselves. And so everything is a random discovery or something you can remember from 30 years ago... some person, some characteristic. It's a very efficient job. You never waste anything. Anything you ever do is going to show up sooner or later.

Have you ever been to India? Is there an Indian author that you have read and liked?

I have never been to India but I have got loads of Indian friends and there are lots of writers amongst them. There is tremendous quality coming out of there and a tremendous variety of approaches too. India has a massive population and it should be dominating the world in terms of literature and it probably will. What we are seeing at the moment is great stuff coming through.

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