For four seasons, Reacher has maintained a successful formula: a new supporting cast, a fresh mystery, a fleeting love interest, and plenty of trademark Reacherisms, from his imposing size to his unconventional social etiquette. Each installment has managed to offer a distinct flavor, from personal revenge in Season 1 to a full-blown Special Investigators reunion in Season 2, and an undercover operation in Season 3. Season 4 saw Reacher stumble into trouble and resolve to right a wrong, a common theme in the source novels.
The issue, as highlighted by Screen Rant, is that Season 5's chosen source material, Make Me, shares significant narrative and thematic overlaps with Season 4's Gone Tomorrow. Both books fall into the 'Reacher finds trouble and must fix it' category, marking the first time the Prime Video series would adapt this specific style of story back-to-back. While Make Me offers a change of scenery, moving to a more remote, rural setting reminiscent of Season 1's Margrave, the core plot points echo previous narratives.
Several parallels between Make Me and Gone Tomorrow are striking. In Make Me, the central victim is closely connected to Reacher's new ally, a dynamic seen in Season 4 with Jacob Merrick's family. Both novels also tend to keep their primary conspiracies under wraps until late in the story, a structural choice that proved frustrating for some viewers in Season 4. Furthermore, Make Me features a journalist investigating conspiracy theories, much like the character Plum in the previous season. The composition of Reacher's investigative team in Make Me—himself, an ex-FBI agent, and a journalist—bears a strong resemblance to Season 4's ensemble. Even the dark conspiracy at the heart of Make Me, involving violent video killings, echoes a plot element from Season 4.
The situation is further complicated by the Neagley spinoff, which premiered alongside Reacher Season 4's finale. While not based on a specific Lee Child novel, the spinoff covers territory broadly similar to Make Me. Both narratives involve villains exploiting troubled young adults for profit and culminate in heroes storming a fortified farm housing a secret criminal operation. The Neagley spinoff also features a 'rural town where everyone's in on the secret' trope, along with the story of an investigative journalist's burned house.
Given these striking similarities, Reacher showrunners will likely need to exercise their established flexibility in adapting the source material. The series has a history of making significant alterations to the books, such as modifying villain origin stories or character fates. To maintain its distinctive appeal and prevent Season 5 from feeling like a rehash of recent storylines, a similarly loose adaptation of Make Me will be crucial for the Prime Video series.