Frances Neagley has never needed much introduction. Across Reacher, Maria Sten’s fiercely self-sufficient private investigator proved such a commanding presence that giving the character her own spotlight felt less like a gamble and more like an inevitability. But Neagley isn’t interested in simply replicating the formula of its parent series. Instead, it takes a character accustomed to stepping into other people’s problems and asks what happens when the mystery becomes deeply, uncomfortably personal.
When the suspicious death of a beloved friend pulls Neagley into an investigation rooted in her Chicago past, her pursuit of justice brings her into the orbit of Detective Hudson Riley (Greyston Holt), a man similarly shaped by complicated family history, albeit from an entirely different perspective. Speaking with our Peter Gray ahead of the show’s release, Sten and Holt discussed putting Neagley at the centre of her own story, the vulnerability that comes with allowing others into her carefully controlled world, the unlikely bond between Neagley and Hudson, and why her approach to trouble differs from Jack Reacher’s particular brand of moral mathematics.
Congratulations on the show. Like everybody, I was addicted to Reacher, and then as soon as Neagley came in, I was like, “We need to give her her own show,” and here we are. So I’m very, very excited for everyone to see it.
I wanted to ask you first, Maria, because Neagley is so fiercely self-sufficient, but she was also handpicked by Reacher and has spent so much of her screen life as someone we understand through that relationship. When you put her at the centre of her own story, did you find that independence is more complicated for her than we might assume? Because being needed by other people is perhaps easier for her than needing them.
Maria Sten: Oh, that’s a great way of putting it, actually. Great observation. And, yeah, I was excited about getting to expand upon the backstory and the character that I have sort of been living with for a while, but no one ever got to see.
But I do think the question was: who do you surround her with in her own universe and her own world? And, yes, I think what also comes across is that she is very comfortable stepping into other people’s worlds and sort of showing up to be the hero, but she’s not very comfortable with people stepping into her world. Reacher is sort of the only person who’s got the magic check mark next to his name.
So I think this season challenges her in so many ways. And I think, yeah, what you said is part of that challenge – all these people coming into her life and her having to deal with them now showing up for her.
And talking about people coming into her life, we’ve got you, Greyston. Hudson is trying to prove that he exists separately from his family’s reputation, while Neagley has spent years constructing a reputation that precedes her. Greyston, did you see something interesting in putting together two people who almost have opposite problems – one trying to escape what people assume about him, and the other having to live up to what people already know she can do?
Maria Sten: That’s a great question.
Greyston Holt: That is a great question. Yeah, you know, we both have issues with our families – very deep-seated issues. They come from very different places, but most, if not all, of our respective issues come from, in my case, a broken family, a family of crime, and in her case, a complicated situation with her father. I don’t want to spoil anything.
So, yeah, it allows us to see vulnerability in one another. That’s an aspect of Neagley that I’m able to see, and I think the fact that I’m able to see her for who she is underneath this very tough exterior, and vice versa, is part of the reason that we’re able to break down our walls and form a bond together.
Reacher has this rigid moral mathematics. He identifies the problem, identifies the bad guy, and deals with it. Neagley is cut from a similar cloth, but she’s not Reacher. Was there ever a moment where either of you thought, “Well, Reacher would handle this this way, but these two absolutely aren’t going to do that”?
Maria Sten: I’ve always felt that Reacher isn’t looking for the problems; the problems are looking for him. Trouble seems to find him. And I think Neagley is looking for the problems to solve because that’s a way she doesn’t have to look at herself. I think it gives her a great sense of control.
There are moments where, really, the origin of this entire season is Neagley deciding to dig into things, and I don’t necessarily think Reacher would have – maybe if it was someone who was that close to him. But I think Neagley is like a dog with a bone. I think that is the difference in how she investigates.
And I think there’s something kinetic about her as well, in how she approaches things. She’s very propulsive, whereas Reacher is more like the silverback gorilla who is like, “Two punch, one, two,” you know? They have different physicalities as well.
All episodes of Neagley Season 1 are now streaming on Prime Video.
