Lee Child, the man who created Jack Reacher, recently opened up about why he thinks the Amazon Prime Video series has worked so well. He believes the long-format show talks much more like his novels than films ever could. Instead of being rushed, the TV series gives him room to show all sides of Reacher, starting from quiet moments, action, to character depth. In an interview with ShortList, Child said:"In the books, that's obvious, but of course for a short-format adaptation that gets compressed and misses a lot, but we had the time to show it all and that was one of the things that I was most excited about and also makes it all the more effective."Lee Child says what excited him most was "doing the long-form narrative" that a full season of TV makes possible. In his books, Reacher is not just a one-dimensional action hero. There is "light and shade and loud and quiet," he told ShortList. He felt that a film would have to compress a lot, and that would lose some of the character. But on Prime Video, they had time to show it all, and that makes the story more effective, he added.Lee Child also pointed to the show, Jack Reacher's pace, as a big reason for its appeal. He said moving too fast all the time feels like having no pace at all. Instead, by allowing quieter sections to breathe, the loud action becomes more powerful. That blend of calm and chaos gives the show its strength. In the same interview with ShortList, he said:"What you need is to show the differences, the quiet parts make the action parts even more effective. And so that was the thrill and the fun of doing a whole season on one story."More context on what Lee Child said about the Amazon Prime series, Jack ReacherLee Child is even more fond of the streaming format because of the amount of freedom it gives. In an interview with TechRadar, he called the running time "such a luxury." He said in a film, there is "ruthless cutting," and many parts have to be left out. But in a series, they can keep "all the little bits, the quiet bits, the fun bits, and the tender bits." Because of that, Child strongly believes authors would pick streaming over film if they had the choice. He further said:"I can guarantee that if streaming television had been around before, no novelist would ever have chosen anything else, because this works so much better."Another reason is casting. Child praised Alan Ritchson, who plays Jack Reacher in the series, for being physically very close to the way Reacher is in the books. Child has said that Ritchson "knows" Reacher in his bones, and that was something fans of the novels cared about deeply. In his interview with ShortList, he said:"Alan was the one, he was the guy. There was no question about that as he owned the role."Lee Child in Manchester - Source: GettyLee Child is also aware of how faithful the show, Jack Reacher, is to the books. Each season adapts a single novel, and this gives time to follow the story and the characters more deeply. He said this loyalty to the books is one reason the show has won both critics and fans alike.Looking ahead, Child is open to adapting more of his books. In a conversation with TechRadar, he said he would "absolutely" revisit some titles that had earlier become movies. He said he is especially happy about how the show allows him to explore Jack Reacher's emotional life, not just his action side.Why does Jack Reacher feel so close to the books?Lee Child says the show, Jack Reacher, gives him something he missed in films, which is the chance to breathe life into Reacher with enough room to explore. The long, season-long format makes it possible to show more of who Reacher is. He points out that his novels are "fully rounded", and Reacher is not always fighting. There is calm, and there is thought. He also thinks pacing matters a lot. Too much action, nonstop, he said, makes things flat. But when you slow down sometimes, the action points shine more. The contrast makes it exciting. Then there is the value of streaming time. Films are limited; they cut things. But in a series, Child says, you can save "the quiet bits" and "the tender bits." He thinks this is what makes the adaptation special. He also feels the casting is now better than before, as Alan Ritchson fits the physical description of Jack Reacher very well. That gives more truth to the screen version of his hero.What does this mean for Jack Reacher's future?Lee Child clearly believes the Amazon Prime show, Jack Reacher, is a strong version of his character from the books. The freedom of TV has allowed him to bring to the screen more of what he wrote on the page. The pacing, the character depth, the casting, all of these matter. He is not done, as he says more of his books could be adapted for future seasons. He also supports spin-offs and new ways to tell Jack Reacher's stories.In the end, Child thinks streaming TV was the right way to bring Jack Reacher to life. He believes this form "works so much better" for the books he wrote.