Reacher’s Neagley Spinoff Return Fixes Ballard’s Bosch Cameo Mistake

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The recent appearance of Bosch in Ballard wasn’t handled well, but the upcoming return of Reacher in the Neagley series should be much better.

Both Reacher and Bosch are hugely popular and critically praised crime dramas on Prime Video. While they’re quite different from each other, making direct comparisons unhelpful, both shows are now building out their worlds with spin-offs focused on female leads, just like Bosch.

Similar to how Titus Welliver made a quick appearance as Harry Bosch in Ballard, Alan Ritchson will reprise his role as Jack Reacher in the Neagley spin-off series. However, Reacher’s cameo will be more impactful and better placed within the story than Bosch’s appearance in Ballard.

Reacher’s Neagley Spinoff Return Will Be Reminiscent Of Bosch’s Cameo In Ballard

Image via Prime Video

In the new Prime Video series, Titus Welliver reprises his role as Harry Bosch, offering guidance to Maggie Q’s character, Ballard.

Throughout the first season of Ballard, he appears several times and assists Maggie Q’s character in linking her current cold case to an older, unsolved murder. While the extent of Alan Ritchson’s role as Jack Reacher in the Neagley spinoff is still unclear, it’s likely he’ll join forces with his longtime partner, similar to Bosch, and help her with her investigation.

Both Bosch and Reacher act as guides and helpers to the lead characters in their respective Prime Video spinoff series, so their roles with Ballard and Neagley are quite comparable.

Bosch’s appearance in Ballard felt bittersweet because it happened after the original Bosch series had already finished. Instead of feeling like a welcome return, it unfortunately highlighted the fact that we won’t see Titus Welliver reprise his role as Harry Bosch in the future.

Bringing Welliver back as Bosch seemed a bit like awkwardly passing the torch to the new character, Ballard. While Ballard is interesting, it’s hard to ignore the impact Bosch had and the space he left behind.

Fortunately, Reacher is not treading the same path as Bosch.

Reacher’s Neagley Appearance Seems Better Timed Than Bosch’s Ballard Cameo

The Prime Video series Reacher remains popular and doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon. With plenty of books still available, the show has material for many future seasons. Even if it runs for the same length as Bosch, Reacher could potentially have at least four more seasons.

Reacher showing up in the Neagley series feels more impactful than Bosch’s appearance in Ballard because it builds up the larger story world instead of just being a quick, unimportant cameo.

Furthermore, this moment delivers on a deeply personal scene featuring Alan Ritchson. As season 2 of Reacher concludes, his character emphasizes that Neagley and the Special Investigators are like family to him.

Jack Reacher is breaking his own established habits by coming back for the new Neagley spinoff, all to support a friend. This makes his appearance much more important to the larger story than the brief cameo by Harry Bosch’s character, Ballard.

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2025-12-11 06:38