Critics Split on Reacher Season 4: Best Yet or First Signs of Wear?
Reacher season four has landed on Prime Video, and critics cannot agree on whether the show has peaked or stumbled.
The season premiered on a Wednesday with the first three episodes released at once, and reviews have been sharply divided. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Rotten Tomatoes critics score sat at 87 percent at the time of reporting — below the previous seasons, with reviews still coming in. For context, the series as a whole holds a 96 percent average Tomatometer across all seasons on Rotten Tomatoes.
The praise is enthusiastic. RogerEbert.com called season four "the best yet," singling out its action, characters, and quips. The Wrap's review called it the bloodiest season yet, with political commentary and more humour, saying the series continues to improve and evolve.
The criticism is equally blunt. The Playlist labelled it the "least satisfying outing yet," with writing so poor it could make a viewer "almost embarrassed to watch." The Daily Beast saw "first real signs of wear and tear," pointing to a convoluted narrative whose particulars are hard to keep straight.
For viewers new to the series, the setup is straightforward. Alan Ritchson stars as Jack Reacher, a charismatic, physically huge drifter who travels from town to town across the United States, usually stumbling into trouble. The show is rated TV-MA (L|V|S) and falls under the crime and drama genres. It first premiered on Prime Video on 4 February 2022. Season four adapts Gone Tomorrow, a novel from Lee Child's long-running Reacher book series, with Nick Santora serving as showrunner.
The executive producing team includes Santora, James D. Grant, Don Granger, Scott Sullivan, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Bill Bost. Santora has run the show since its first season, adapting Child's novels one book per season.
Ritchson's profile has grown alongside the series. Beyond Reacher, he is set to appear in War Machine, a sci-fi drama listed among Netflix's March 2026 releases. The Hollywood Reporter referred to him simply as "Reacher" in that listing — a sign of how closely the actor and character have become linked in the public eye.
For fans, the divide is less about whether to watch and more about what to expect. One camp sees a show levelling up its ambition. The other sees a formula starting to strain. An 87 percent critics score is still a strong number by most standards — it just happens to be the lowest in the show's history so far, with the aggregate still shifting as additional reviews arrive.
What is clear is that Reacher remains a fixture of Prime Video's originals slate, and the conversation around season four is loud enough to suggest the audience is still paying attention.
