I Can’t Tell If Reacher Season 4 Throwing Shade At Its Netflix Rival Is Intentional

Action TV fans might have noticed what sounds like a reference to Reacher‘s biggest rival in the first episode of the new season. Reacher season 4 has attracted rave reviews from critics, with fans awarding the show its best Rotten Tomatoes score since season 1. The series captured lightning in a bottle, highlighting Alan Ritchson’s star power as an action hero, mostly being faithful to Lee Child’s Reacher books, and running with a script full of witty quips and self-aware comedy that Ritchson can also use due to the show’s biggest book change, which was making Jack Reacher slightly more talkative.

Reacher‘s stoic one-liners are some of the best in the series, but other characters’ references to other iconic crime and action franchises have not gone unnoticed. These include The Sopranos, with a hitman wearing a Members Only jacket, and The Terminator, with Robert Patrick’s character denying knowing the alias “Sarah Connor.” Now, one line sounds like a little shade at its biggest rival. Reacher season 4 repeats and improves on The Night Agent‘s first scene, with the central characters facing a terror attack on the subway, but later in the same episode, Tamara’s partner gives her some familiar-sounding instructions.

Shaun Docherty references Tamara being “f-ed sideways” by the machine, and tells her to “punch in, punch out and hope the phone doesn’t ring in between.” While not a direct quote from The Night Agent, this reflects Peter’s position, being placed on a low-level assignment operating the emergency phone line for undercover agents. Docherty’s line perfectly describes Peter’s job, looking after a phone that never rings, except in dire circumstances. While it is very possible that the line was not an intentional Night Agent reference, fans of both shows may have noticed the similarity, especially after the opening scene.

The Night Agent Is Reacher’s Biggest Rival

After the instant success of Reacher‘s first season, it was inevitable that other action TV shows like Reacher would attempt to replace Prime Video’s flagship show, with other streaming platforms scrambling to find their own Reacher replacements, while even Prime Video commissioned more action shows. With plenty of stunts, mind-blowing twists, and main characters who find themselves at the center of far-reaching conspiracies, it is understandable that Netflix’s The Night Agent emerged as the best chance for the platform to have an equivalent action series.

The Night Agent has an advantage over Reacher, as Reacher is limited by the source material. By design, most of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series can be read out of order, with each book telling a standalone story and the titular character undergoing very little change in between. On the other hand, Peter’s relationship with Rose has been a major driving force throughout The Night Agent‘s three seasons, even when she is not a main character. This means that the character arcs in The Night Agent easily beat Reacher‘s, while giving gravity to many of the show’s most harrowing scenes.

Action TV shows do not generally have a reputation for being realistic, and neither Reacher nor any of its rivals are true to life. However, Reacher does not always make sense, and can be truly ludicrous at times due to overreliance on the main character’s size and strength. In novel canon, Jack Reacher’s muscles have literally stopped bullets, and action scenes can end up being predictable due to his near-superhuman fighting strength, while the stakes feel higher in The Night Agent as Peter is still human despite his training. That said, Reacher is the clear winner when comparing the two.

Why The Night Agent Will Never Match Reacher

Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland in season 2 of The Night Agent

Reacher‘s relative predictability is not always a negative for the show. While the success of individual seasons can fluctuate, the series stands a better chance at long term success due to the fact that the core details will remain the same. With 30 novels in the book series, the show is unlikely to run out of source material, and there are still plenty of stories yet to be adapted, including Alan Ritchson’s favorite Reacher novel, which is one of the most ambitious in the series. In addition, The Night Agent‘s best advantage over Reacher can also work against it.

Comparing Reacher to The Night Agent
Title	Year	Seasons released	Rotten Tomatoes critics’ rating	Rotten Tomatoes audience rating
Reacher	2022	4	95%	81%
The Night Agent	2023	3	82%	67%

Reacher‘s best supporting characters can make or break seasons, with fan favorites keeping the series compelling even when Ritchson is not onscreen. However, while The Night Agent‘s Chelsea is a worthy equivalent to Reacher‘s Neagley, Rose is less popular as a love interest. Reacher has a type, usually going for competent women who can help him in a fight, but Rose’s damsel in distress persona has grated on reviewers. It is possible that Reacher has not and will not throw shade at The Night Agent, but it cannot be denied that the series has plenty of opportunity here.