For everyone who absolutely loves watching shit get handled by someone who doesn’t take any additional shit from anyone, then Reacher Season 3 may be the most anticipated show on the 2025 TV schedule. Across the first two seasons, Alan Ritchson’s mission-focused drifter successfully beat the crap out of all opposing forces, with his biceps and abs often displayed as bones are being shattered. Yet do we ever see Reacher in a gym or exercising? Not a chance.
Star Alan Ritchson is definitely aware that fans joking question the military vet’s ability to stay so bulked and hulking without an ample workout regimen taking up part of his daily activities. And it’s an especially jarring detail, since Ritchson himself has to work his ass off to keep the character’s intimidating look intact. When asked about it by our sister site GamesRadar+, the Titans alum made it clear how impossible it would be to look like Reacher without maximum efforts. In his words:
It’s a little ridiculous with Reacher, I mean, but it’s funny. You got like this, like, you know, chiseled six-pack abs kind of physique in the books. And it’s like, of course he’s a unicorn, you know. No, you would never look like Reacher without hours of training.
Not to question Ritchson’s claims there, but I’m pretty sure even after an endless number of hours of training, I would still need ample amounts of surgery and CGI animation to look anything like Reacher. Unless there’s a Season 3 sequence where he’s ladi out in bed from pulling all the muscles in his stomach and thighs. That’s my Reacher moment.
Anyway, just in case anyone had any doubts, the Fast X co-star did indeed confirm that he works out “constantly,” and previously shared the inspiring eight-word mantra he uses to keep himself motivated. And except for an unseemly fascination with cookies, is pretty good about maintaning a healthy diet, likely without pounding beers the way Reacher does, either.
Not that the live-action TV series is the absolute source of the disparity between Reacher’s body mass and his gym routines. As Alan Ritchson pointed out, the guy who wrote the source material was also cheeky about the drifter magically staying so musclebound.
Lee Child, like, has a real sense of humor about it. There’s a book where he goes, he gets out of bed and he stretches, and he goes, ‘That’s the workout for the day.’
Now, would it be amusing to watch a season of Reacher with someone a bit lumpier and less stoic in the main role? Absolutely. I’d even love to see some kind of parody with someone far less chiseled in the main role. To offer any suggestions beyond myself would just sound mean. And to offer myself as a suggestion would just sound….perfect. Wait, no. I don’t think I could handle any rib-breaking stunts that aren’t specifically about barbecue ribs.
Check out the big Reacher Season 3 trailer, which doesn’t exactly skimp on moments of badassery.
The wait is almost over, though, as Alan Ritchson’s Reacher will soon headbutt its way into our lives when Season 3 premieres on Thursday, February 20, for fans with Amazon Prime subscriptions.
