‘Reacher’ Star Maria Sten on Taking a ‘Deep Dive’ in Season 2 (Exclusive)

Reacher Season 2 is streaming on Prime Video, and Frances Neagley is back to help Reacher bring people to justice. However, this season is a little different as Reacher and Neagley reunite with their former U.S. Army unit to find out who is murdering members of their group. PopCulture.com spoke to Maria Sten who plays Neagley in Reacher, and she talked about how the second season takes a deeper look into her character. 

“It was exciting. I’m such a deep dive of character,” Sten told PopCulture. “I do a lot of research when I approach my work, and I had already sort of done so much of that going into season one, but my role was quite small on season one in comparison to what it is this season. So, it was just really exciting to get to share all the stuff that I had come up with with the world. And, I think of course, expand upon it, but mostly, the relationship between Reacher and Neagley that we got to explore, that specifically, I think was really, really interesting.”

Neagley and Reacher (Alan Ritchson) were members of the Army’s 110th MP Investigations, and they teamed up with former members Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan) and David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos) to investigate the murders of the members of their group. Along with that, viewers learn more about Neagley and why she and Reacher understand each other. 

“They’re both quite socially awkward in their own way,” Sten said. “Reacher is quite stunted and doesn’t understand how to pick up on social cues. Neagley understands them and can perceive them, but she is so guarded herself, she has a lot of trauma in her history and has a very hard time connecting to people and letting her guard down, so they have this sort of shared understanding that these people… No one else can understand where they’re coming from. No one else can really get close to them, and that is just something that they share. There’s a simplicity to that that I think is really lovely.”

Despite being “socially awkward,” Sten enjoys playing Neagley because she has a “quirky side to her. There’s a childlike, endearing quality about her, and she’s always eating cereals and she’s loving her video games and wants her chocolate milkshakes. I think that there’s just, yeah, a childlike, endearing quality that plays up against this very hard world that she lives in and hard life that she’s had. So, for me, it’s a wonderful thing to be able to bounce between, but also try to find a way to ground, so that it isn’t put on, that it’s really her.”

Reacher has been such a success for Prime Video that the series has been renewed for a third season before Season 2 premiered. When asked about if Season 3 of Reacher has started production, Sten just answered with one word. 

“Yes,” Sten replied. “That’s all I can tell you.” New episodes of Reacher Season 2 premiere on Prime Video every Friday with the finale airing on Jan. 19.