Amazon struck gold with Reacher and turned Lee Child's book series into a global phenomenon. However, the series was not just about the intimidating titular character who stands 6'5" and weighs around 230 pounds. It was also about the people he met and how they shaped his journey. One such important character is Frances Neagley (played by Maria Sten). Neagley is pretty similar to Reacher. She works alone, she does not show her emotions in front of everyone, and she does not trust anyone easily. That is why Reacher fans fell in love with the character and applauded Sten for portraying her so effortlessly. 

As time passed and Neagley became an integral part of Reacher's world, fans started asking the production giant for a project solely based on Neagley. Amazon did not disappoint and annouced an eight-part series focusing on the aforementioned character. Releasing on September 16, Neagley chronicles the journey of its titular character and how she finds herself drawn into a mystery involving the death of someone close to her. Sten returns as Neagley and is joined by Greyston Holt, who portrays the character of Detective Hudson Riley. 

With Neagley, Maria Sten is taking the character into territory audiences have never seen before. She is not a secondary character anymore. She is now at the center of the story, with her own personal struggles and emotional wounds. For Sten, the emotional complexity was one of the biggest reasons why she decided to accept the role in the first place. Neagley has always kept people at a distance, but the upcoming show allows the actor to explore the scars and experiences hiding beneath that guarded exterior. 

"It is a lovely challenge. It is the best challenge as an actor to be presented with something like that because I think that is what we crave, right? We crave complexity. We crave the dark. At least, I am so interested in the dark parts of the psychology of a character, and the things that they are trying to hide from everyone else are, of course, what makes a character the most interesting," the actress told NetflixJunkie exclusively. 

"So, I was so excited. For me, that was sort of why I loved the character to begin with, because I felt that there were so many layers and such a big wound inside of her that I wanted to really work on and explore. And that is certainly what we get to see this season. So, it is exciting, but it is also scary because vulnerable Neagley is not something that anyone has seen before. And I think, as I was feeling it and Neagley was feeling that exposure, I also realized that it would be vulnerable to see how people would take to that vulnerability, how the audience would respond to it," Sten added. 

'Neagley': Meet the Cast of the New Action Crime TV Series

Neagley has a unique way to deal with problems and is exceptionally skilled at solving them. However, she does not approach an investigation in the same way as everyone around her. That becomes particularly clear through Detective Hudson Riley (played by Greyston Holt), a Chicago PD detective who initially seems to have little patience for Neagley's unconventional methods. 

While talking about his character, Greyston Holt noted that he is accustomed to following protocols and established procedures. He likes to work within the rules of the department. Neagley, meanwhile, has a habit of handling cases in her own way. Without any hesitation, this creates plenty of friction between the two characters when they first start working together.

"Initially, he  (Detective Riley), I don't think he's on board with her approach. I mean, I am a detective. I work for the Chicago Police Department. We have rules, we have ways of doing things, and Neeli has her own way of doing things. It's a very specific way of handling cases. And so, for my character, there's a lot of butting heads. There's a lot of just trying to call her on her bullshit. It's not the way you do this," Holt said.

"But ultimately, he sees in her someone who is fiercely loyal to the concept of justice. And she's fiercely competent in what she does. So, he learns to appreciate the skills that she has," Holt told NetflixJunkie. 

This particular element changes the way Neagley works, and that vulnerability becomes important because Neagley is no longer operating in the familiar environment she had with Reacher. According to Sten, the absence of Reacher changes her character in significant ways. She explained that Neagley feels more intense throughout the spin-off, with the personal stakes of the investigation influencing almost every aspect of her behavior. 

She is still one of the best operatives working out there, but the stakes are higher this time around and there is a greater sense of emotional pressure underneath her actions. 

"I felt that she became more intense. Even as I am watching the show, there's an intensity to her that comes across more than it has in Reacher, and I think that's in part due to the personal nature of this case that she is trying to solve this season," Sten noted.

"And I think there is even more of a guardedness in her in this show because Reacher isn't there as the person that she's comfortable with. So, she is just on her own, not really quite comfortable in her own life. And so, I think those are the differences. And, of course, we talked about the vulnerable aspect of her life that we get to explore and her relationship with her father, which we have so nicely set up in Reacher already, you know, how much her father means to her. I think we really pay that off in the first season of the show."

That makes the spinoff more than an extension of Neagley's action-heavy adventures. It becomes an opportunity to examine why she became the person audiences already know, and what happens when someone who has spent years protecting herself is finally forced to confront the parts of her life she would rather keep hidden. 

Neagley Season 1 premieres exclusively on Prime Video on September 16.

'Neagley' Cast, Plot, Release Date, and Everything to Know About the Crime Drama

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