Call her when you're in trouble – just don't call her a sidekick.
After appearances over three seasons of Reacher (and we're not ruling out a fourth, as of this writing), former US Army 110th Special Investigations Unit Master Sergeant Frances Neagley (played once again with steely confidence and intensity by Maria Sten) explodes into her own series, and it's everything you would expect given its roots.
(Reacher showrunner Nick Santora is the main man here too, sharing duties with veteran producer Nicholas Wootton.)
In her first solo outing, an incident involving a close childhood friend prompts Neagley to drop everything – to the chagrin of her private investigator boss – to unearth the truth.
Trading training for help from aspiring PI Renee Birdwhistle (Adeline Rudolph, Mortal Kombat II), enlisting the services of street hustler Keno (Jasper Jones) for a few hazardous jobs, and working with reputedly compromised police detective Hudson Riley (Greyston Holt, Bitten, Riverdale), Neagley soon finds that the case could be more than she and her motley crew can handle.
There's a commune/cult involved, led by the supposedly charismatic Lawrence Cole (Damon Herriman, Mindhunter) – not sure about these cultists, but I'd have serious misgivings about a guy who played Charles Manson twice.
This particular cult seems to have ties to powerful, shady corporate types, embodied by the slick and ruthless Pierce Woodrow (Matthew del Negro, Teen Wolf, Mayor Of Kingstown) – who answers to an even shadier tycoon with international assassins at his beck and call.
What's a former army cop to do, especially when confronted with her own haphephobia (as viewers and readers would know, an irrational fear of touching or being touched) and how it possibly ties into something half-remembered from her childhood?
The solution is simple and typically Reacher-esque: make everyone pay, and inflict maximum suffering while settling accounts.
In such times as we live in, you can never have enough entertainment that delivers the vicarious pleasure of seeing those who consider themselves untouchable receive brutal comeuppances.
Reacher delivers it on an annual basis, and Neagley proudly keeps that banner flying.
Some solid emotional stakes are present here too, not just from her connection to the case, but thanks to quick, efficient relationship building.
Among these, we have Neagley coping with her difficult family history, her growing bond with Riley – who is himself trying to shake off the taint of his own clan's reputation – as well as a burgeoning friendship between Keno and Renee.
It's nice to see the key supporting characters rounded out like this instead of being treated as fringe players who are there just to advance the plot.
We get much more invested in their fates, making each moment of danger to them an utter nailbiter.
Of course, the main player herself isn't spared some dire peril, including a drawn-out tease with a deadly chemical substance involved that left my gut knotted from the suspense.
Overall, it's a good balance of action, suspense, dramatic tension, unexpected grim humour (what a convenient place to have a length of rebar sticking out) and character development.
Neagley has largely been a cipher in her Reacher appearances, but her background and personality are nicely rounded out here, with a couple of surprising insights and enough bittersweetness to underscore the hard reality of her life.
And of course, the inevitable question gets answered: can the character – and Sten, by extension – carry a series on their own? That would be a resounding, bone-cracking "affirmative!"
Neagley Season One premieres on Prime Video on Sept 16.
Summary:
Bad luck and trouble, served hot
