The Night Agent has often been touted as Netflix’s “response” to Prime Video’s Reacher, but soon, the streaming giant will seemingly have an even better Reacher replacement. Based on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books, Reacher has risen in the ranks to become Prime Video’s most valuable television IP. The show has been so successful that the streamer is even expanding its lore with an original spinoff focusing on Maria Sten’s Frances Neagley.

Netflix’s Adaptation Of Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole Novels Can Be A Better Reacher Replacement Than The Night Agent

Harry Hole Is More Similar To Jack Reacher Than Peter Sutherland

Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø is well-known for writing the Harry Hole novel series. There are a total of 13 books in the series, and all of them revolve around the titular detective character. An adaptation of the fifth Harry Hole book, titled The Devil’s Star, is being developed for Netflix. Most details surrounding its release are unknown, but the show is scheduled to come out sometime in 2026. The crime drama series will be titled Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole and feature Tobias Santelmann as its titular lead.

Even though The Night Agent is currently considered Netflix’s Reacher “alternative,” Harry Hole would be a better fit for viewers looking for a darker and more morally complex protagonist like Jack Reacher. Like Reacher, Harry Hole is portrayed as a lone wolf in the original book series who often relies on unconventional and unethical means to solve criminal cases. Unlike more straightforward spy or detective characters, Harry also does not shy away from crossing several moral boundaries to get to the bottom of the criminal conspiracies he dabbles in.

Like Reacher, each season of the Detective Hole series can also adapt a new novel.

The biggest challenge Netflix faced with The Night Agent‘s adaptation was that its source material only had one book. After loosely adapting the sole novel, the streamer had to continue the show’s run with an original story. With Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole, Netflix will not encounter this issue because the Harry Hole book series already has more than ten novels. This gives the Netflix series an abundance of source material content to adapt if the first season performs well. Like Reacher, each season of the Detective Hole series can also adapt a new novel.

Like Reacher, Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole Can Learn From Its Preceding Movie’s Mistakes

The Detective Hole Movie Failed To Please The Original Book Series’ Readers

Long before Alan Ritchson accurately portrayed Jack Reacher in the Amazon Prime Video detective series, Tom Cruise played the character on the big screen. Even though Cruise’s first Jack Reacher movie performed well enough to pave the way for a sequel, the film series failed to gain the approval of Lee Child’s readers because of its creative liberties and false portrayal of the titular character. Even the Jo Nesbø character received a similar big-screen treatment a few years ago.

The Snowman | Trailer

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Directed by Tomas Alfredson, 2017’s The Snowman was based on Jo Nesbø’s seventh Harry Hole novel of the same name. Despite being backed by solid source material and having Michael Fassbender as its lead, the film barely left a mark at the global box office. It also got an extremely low Rotten Tomatoes score of 7%, with critics unanimously agreeing that the film was not worth watching. Like Prime Video’s Reacher, Netflix’s take on the Harry Hole novels has the perfect opportunity to learn from its preceding movie’s mistakes.

Like Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher movies, The Snowman, too, had a stellar cast that included several big names like Rebecca Ferguson, Val Kilmer, and JK Simmons. However, it still failed both critically and commercially because it lacked the narrative coherence and brooding sense of mystery that made its source material successful. The upcoming Netflix show must avoid repeating the film’s issues, while ensuring that it riffs on all the elements that have made Reacher and The Night Agent such global phenomenons.