Jack Reacher Creator Lee Child Is Devastated About Roscoe Not Being In Season 2
Season 1 of "Reacher" ended in much the same way as most of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels: with the eponymous ex-military police officer hitch-hiking out of town. As Blind Blake's "Police Dog Blues" plays out over the closing shots and the bluesman croons the refrain, "All my life I've been a travelin' man," Prime Video's hugely popular series hammers home the point that Jack Reacher doesn't stay in one place too long.
Before leaving the fictional town of Margrave, Georgia, Alan Ritchson's Reacher makes sure to visit Willa Fitzgerald's Roscoe Conklin to reveal, in particularly grandiose fashion, that "A hundred thousand years ago there were people who stayed by the campfire and people who wandered. I'm pretty sure I'm a direct descendent of the wandering type." But Reacher is, of course, descended solely from the pen of Lee Child, who envisioned the character as a sort of modern-day incarnation of the classic Western out-of-town stranger trope. Across 28 novels, the former Army man has traveled the U.S., seeking out new experiences and stumbling upon trouble no matter where he ends up, usually thwarting whatever sinister plans he uncovers in stylish and often brutal fashion.
Which means Amazon's show has to switch things up dramatically for "Reacher" season 2 as the titular hero travels to a new setting and meets a whole new cast of characters. Having adapted the first Jack Reacher novel, "Killing Floor" for season 1, showrunner Nick Santora and his writers are set to bring the 11th book "Bad Luck and Trouble" to the small screen next time around. Unfortunately that means several fan-favorite characters will be left behind.
'I was almost in tears'
After his final visit with Roscoe Conklin in the last episode of season 1, Alan Ritchson's Reacher sits down with Malcom Goodwin's police captain Oscar Finlay, who remarks, "Roscoe's not easy to walk away from, huh?" And it seems he's not the only one who's noticed the allure of Willa Fitzgerald's character. Not only does Ritchson himself want to switch things up from the novels by having Finlay and Roscoe return for season 2, but author Lee Child himself wouldn't mind bringing back the latter.
Speaking at a Q&A event, via The Express, Child explained how he found it difficult to say goodbye to his own characters after finishing "Killing Floor" — an experience he had to relive when production on season 1 of the show ended. As the writer put it:
"Reacher moves on all the time, and I was so sad I would never see Finley or Roscoe again. I mean, literally, I was almost in tears at that prospect. And I felt the same thing at the end of this season. I wish I'd called it 'Roscoe,' now, and we could have had more!"
According to the outlet, Fitzgerald made a joke about Child writing a "Roscoe" book, saying, "I'm just waiting for 'Roscoe.' You teased it, and I want you to write it now." Which might not be all that bad an idea. Unfortunately, Child has been stepping away from his Jack Reacher character of late, claiming he's "aging out" of the writing process. Recent novels in the series have been co-written with his brother, Andrew Child, who is set to fully take over the series going forward. Which makes a Roscoe series seem even more unlikely.
Anything could happen — if the fans want it
Nick Santora confirmed to /Film that neither Roscoe or Finlay will show up in season 2 of "Reacher," saying that he, too, "loves the characters," but that "we're not gonna force anything and we're not gonna do anything that messes up the lore of 'Reacher.'" Interestingly enough, the showrunner opined that if he did try to shoehorn the pair into forthcoming seasons of "Reacher," then "Lee Child would say, 'Nope.'" But based on Child's revelation of how distraught he was to bid farewell to Finlay and Roscoe, the author might well be up for straying from his novels and bringing them back.
Of course, this is showbiz, and the real test will come with "Reacher" season 2. If fans respond as enthusiastically as they did to the first season, which broke Prime Video streaming records, then the modus operandi going forward will be to continue adhering as closely to the novels' anthology structure as possible. If things don't go as well next time around, we could well see Roscoe and Finlay brought back to try to boost viewership.
Of course, there's also the potential for a Roscoe spin-off show, which could follow the cop's efforts to, as she put it in her final interaction with Reacher, "rebuild the town [her] family built." Time will tell whether we actually do see her return, but in the meantime, you can catch Willa Fitzgerald in Netflix's upcoming "The Fall of the House of Usher" series, later this year.