“I only touch people when I’m beating the shit out of them.” As the first Reacher spinoff, Neagley hits Prime Video with a lot of what we already know about the character. Frances Neagley (Maria Sten) can be prickly, a loner — but she’s also a true friend to those in need, and will always be prepared to scrap with anyone. As the series begins, Neagley is a Chicago-based private investigator with a personal connection to her new case.
NEAGLEY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: At an L station in Chicago’s Loop, a young man sheds his clothing and climbs onto the tracks. It’s like he’s in a trance.
The Gist: That young man was Frances Neagley’s childhood friend and she suspects his death was no drug-fueled tragedy. Neagley features Maria Sten as a private investigator, part of a large Chicago firm operated by Gerald York (Joel Keller [the actor, not to be confused with Decider contributor Joel Keller]). She’s one of York’s best PIs — no wonder; she was trained by the 110th Special Investigators, her old MP unit alongside Reacher (Alan Ritchson) — but Neagley is also accustomed to working how she wants, when she wants, and with whom she wants. Looking into her friend’s death, she meets a Chicago police detective, Hudson “Rats” Riley (Greyson Holt), and a collaboration begins.
What does a farming commune outside the city, operated like a halfway house for wayward youth, have to do with a kid walking in front of an elevated train? How does Pierce Woodrow (Matthew del Negro) fit in, who seems to be a pharmaceutical entrepreneur with bold ideas about treating anxiety and depression with psychedelics? And can we just watch Neagley cruise around Chicago in her cool Mercury Marauder? Answers to all these questions will be revealed as Neagley takes a well-deserved feature spot in the Reacher universe.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Alan Ritchson makes an early cameo as Reacher here, so Neagley understands its lineage. But this spinoff also suggests standard TV fare — like Tracker on CBS, about a guy who operates between the lines of the law.
Our Take: When Reacher debuted, Alan Ritchson’s performance as the character was praised as physically and ideologically accurate to the original book series. It should be the same story with Neagley. Maria Sten embodies Frances Neagley from note one in this first official spinoff from that world, which is an otherwise slightly hard-boiled, but mostly meat-and-potatoes series about a lone wolf private eye who does the right thing — even when that’s hard — and learns a little about herself in the process. With Neagley, we’re looking forward to how she’ll use her investigative smarts, her fists when necessary, and how she’ll reveal more of her personal code — features that have always informed this memorable character.
Performance Worth Watching: As Frances Neagley, Maria Sten was the best thing in Reacher not named Reacher. This show places that energy at the center.
Sex and Skin: Neagley includes random butts; this is in line with how Reacher typically handles sex and skin.
Parting Shot: “This is [them] trying to clean things up, ‘cause they know I’m coming after them.” Neagley pauses for emphasis, and we love it. “It’s not gonna work.”
Our Call: STREAM IT! Reacher fans know Neagley was always the best in the business. In Neagley, her own name-brand spinoff, we get to see her go to work.
Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.