Amazon has renewed their Jack Ryan series, starring John Krasinski, for a second season. If you’re wondering how you missed the first season, worry no more: it hasn’t aired yet. The streaming service will launch Jack Ryan on Friday, August 31, but they’ve already secured the actor for a second go-around in the lead role.
This probably has something to do with the surprising success of A Quiet Place, a film Krasinksi wrote, directed and starred in, making him very in-demand right now. That’s great for the show, as interest in Jack Ryan has probably heightened, but it also made Krasinski more likely to get big offers for other projects, so Amazon smartly signed him and his new show up for a second season.
Production on the second season will begin this summer in Europe, South America and the United States for a story that finds the CIA operative confronting “the forces in power in a dangerous, declining democratic regime in South America”.
The first season of the show will find the titular character battling ISIS in a terrorist-related storyline, but things sound like they’re being switched up slightly for the eight-episode second season. Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Graham Roland (Fringe) are serving as showrunners for the show, while Krasinski will executive produce along with starring in the project.
Amazon cited the growth in subscribers after they aired a trailer for the show during the Super Bowl as the reason for the renewal, but they probably also considered Krasinski’s ever-growing schedule. He’s already committed to directing a sci-fi film titled Life On Mars, but not before he shoots Jack Ryan season two.
These are all smart business decisions by Amazon and good for fans of Krasinski. Now all we have to do is wait and see if Jack Ryan is actually any good or not.
There have been multiple attempts at bringing Tom Clancy‘s character from the page to the screen, with the most famous incarnations being the Harrison Ford-led films in the 90s, but the character has never made anything close to the cultural impact of a similar character like James Bond. Perhaps Krasinski’s take can change that.
#Peace.Love.JackRyan
