7 Shows Like 'Reacher' to Watch if You Love Bruising Action

It’s been about 18 months since Amazon last gave us a dose of Reacher, its popular action series based on author Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels. While there’s no exact premiere date for the highly anticipated second season, we know that it should be hitting streaming sometime in December. If you can’t wait that long for more shootouts, fistfights and crime action, here are seven shows to watch in the meantime.

If you like gritty book adaptations: 'Sharp Objects'

TV has no shortage of book adaptations on the screen, but their quality can vary from show to show. Luckily, HBO’s version of Sharp Objects, which was brought to the small screen with the help of the book’s author, Gillian Flynn, is a case of the show getting the tone and atmosphere of the book right. Amy Adams plays Camille Parker, a reporter dealing with an assortment of emotional issues, who comes back to her hometown in order to report on the murder of two young girls. The miniseries unfolds with loads of dramatic tension, and is shot beautifully by late filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée, and it all builds to an ending that will have you searching for your jaw on the floor. Reacher fans are sure to connect with the gritty vibe of this crime series.

Rotten Tomatoes: 92% critics, 83% audience

Watch on Max

If you like over-the-top genre shows: 'Banshee'

Cinemax’s Banshee is truly one of a kind. The show takes a simple concept – an escaped convict (The Boys' Antony Starr) takes on the identity of a small town’s dead sheriff in order to hide from his enemies in the criminal underworld – and delivers something completely explosive. Banshee indulges every insane genre impulse it can think of, with a healthy dose of the gratuitous sex and violence Cinemax was famous for. Add in a handful of resonant storylines that emotionally ground the action and you have one of the most entertaining shows of the 2010s. If you like Reacher’s over-the-top genre nature, you’re in for a treat here.

Rotten Tomatoes: 90% critics, 91% audience

Watch on Max

If you like shows about political corruption: 'Jack Ryan'

Reacher and Jack Ryan share a lot of similarities beyond both being available on Prime Video. Jack Ryan, which recently ended after four seasons, follows the titular CIA agent (John Krasinski) as he travels across the globe and wards off threats both international and domestic. The action scenes are all well-shot and make an impact, but the true highlight of the show is its twisty plotting. As each season unfolds, Ryan finds complex levels of corruption within various governments. The web of plotting will keep you guessing until the final shot of every finale.

Rotten Tomatoes: 77% critics, 72% audience

Watch on Prime Video

If you like shows with charismatic but problematic main characters: 'Justified'

Dialogue is the bread and butter of any good crime show; there’s nothing like a main character who can throw out a few sharp quips every episode. Justified, based on the stories by Elmore Leonard, crackles with great dialogue. As U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) attempts to police the area of Harlan County, Ky., he runs into a memorable cast of characters in each season. From formidable villains like Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) and Mags Bennett (Margo Martindale) to lovable crime doofuses like Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman), Justified’s neo-western crime bonafides are on full display, as the characters trade barbs and bullets in an attempt to rule, or perhaps escape, Harlan County. If you love the way Jack Reacher jokes with and intimidates his enemies, you’re going to love Raylan Givens and just about everyone else in Justified.

Rotten Tomatoes: 97% critics, 94% audience

Watch on Hulu

If you like beautifully choreographed action sequences: 'Ganglands'

Netflix’s Ganglands is a bit of an underappreciated gem. The French crime series never quite garnered as much attention as, say, Lupin, but it’s one of the best crime shows out there. Not only is the story itself tense and engaging – the show largely follows Mehdi, the leader of a group of heist experts who, while trying to get out of the game, end up in the middle of a drug war between rival gangs – but the action sequences have a precision, brutality, and clear-eyed direction to them that will satiate Reacher fans.

Rotten Tomatoes: 91% audience

Watch on Netflix

If you like your crime more procedural: 'Bosch'

Another show based on a character from a popular book series – this one written by Michael Connelly – Prime Video’s Bosch takes a similar approach to the crime show, rolling out a more procedural-like story in each season. Like Reacher, Bosch is fairly old-school in its approach to storytelling, taking its time unraveling stories of serial killers, corruption and turf wars, something fans of Reacher will certainly appreciate since both shows share a similar approach to storytelling. With its thrilling shootouts and tense action scenes, and a complex performance from Titus Welliver at its core, Bosch has managed seven seasons and a spin-off series in Bosch: Legacy.

Rotten Tomatoes: 97% critics, 93% audience

Watch on Prime Video

If you like your crime to be more like a Western: 'Longmire'

Reacher might be about a former military policeman, but the show has its roots in the classic Western. A man on his own in a rural town, fighting against the corrupt power of local politicians and law enforcement: what could be more Western than that? If that’s the vibe you go for, you’ll love Longmire. Across six seasons Walt Longmire deals with the criminal element of fictional Absaroka County, Wyo. with a gruff and no-nonsense but ultimately compassionate demeanor. The show might not knock your socks off with action sequences like some of the other recommendations on this list, but the setting and slow-burn atmosphere of Longmire is sure to please most fans of Reacher.

Rotten Tomatoes: 88% critics, 92% audience