Forget The Night Agent: Netflix’s True ‘Reacher’ Successor Arrives in Just 1 Month

The Night Agent is an incredible crime thriller, but calling it a worthy Reacher replacement seems a little unfair. Reacher's true replacement on Netflix will seemingly be another upcoming action thriller that is scheduled to premiere in just one month.

Prime Video already had a history of delivering some of the best dad shows, like Bosch and Jack Ryan. However, the streaming service reigned supreme in the crime thriller genre after it released Reacher, which is now among the most successful franchise IPs on the small screen. The Night Agent could have been Netflix's perfect response to Reacher, but, so far, it has fallen short of achieving the same level of acclaim and commercial success.

Interestingly, though, Netflix has a new crime thriller lined up for fans of the genre. This show seems incredibly promising and has the potential to become Reacher's perfect rival.

The Night Agent Is Great, But Netflix’s True Reacher Replacement Will Be Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole

The Night Agent has had a great run on Netflix so far. After three seasons, it only seems to be getting better with each installment. However, if one compares it with Prime Video's Reacher, it still seems a step behind in its central hero's presence and overall action. Unlike Reacher, it has also not etched a unique identity in the crime genre and seems more in line with the regular fare of spy thrillers.

Netflix's upcoming adaption of Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole, which is scheduled to premiere on March 26, 2026, seems to have all the ingredients to rival Prime Video's Reacher.

Like Reacher, Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole features a social pariah as its lead. Harry Hole works within the legal system and is not exactly a vigilante like Reacher. However, he often finds himself at odds with his seniors and colleagues and struggles to form long-term connections.

Similar to Jack Reacher, Harry Hole almost has an uncanny ability to spot patterns and hidden details in criminal cases that most others miss. He is not physically imposing and invincible like Reacher but does not shy away from resorting to extreme violence to get the job done.

In terms of the overarching tone and the nature of the crimes in Jo Nesbø's novels, Netflix's Detective Hole will seemingly be more in line with gritty detective shows like True Detective. However, its ability to stand out in the genre will eventually allow it to rank among the best crime thrillers like Reacher.

Like Reacher, Netflix’s Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole Is Based On A Vast Book Series

Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole also has another massive advantage over Netflix's The Night Agent. The Night Agent season 1 adapted Matthew Quirk's novel of the same name. Since the book did not have any official follow-ups, the show's creators had to come up with original storylines to continue its run. The Detective Hole book series, like Lee Child's Jack Reacher, already has over ten books.

This gives the upcoming Netflix show enough content for at least five more seasons if it only focuses on the best books in the series.

Interestingly, Netflix's Detective Hole is adapting the fifth book, The Devil's Star, from the original series in season 1. It would be interesting to see where the show will go from there if season 1 performs well. While only time will tell whether the show will be as good as Reacher or The Night Agent, Jo Nesbø's direct involvement with it as the author and its one-book-per-season approach already spells promise.