And it’s not for the reasons you might think.

Image via Prime Video

THE BIG PICTURE

 Reacher has a diverse audience, with 42% of viewers being female, surprising given the perception of the series as “Dad TV.”
 The appeal of the character lies in the idea of independence and freedom rather than just romantic fantasy, attracting both men and women.
 Actor Alan Ritchson underwent a significant physical transformation for the role, gaining muscle but also experiencing consequences such as testosterone depletion and the need for surgery.

Although Reacher is the current king of Dad TV, the demographic for the series is actually a fairly even split, with 42% of the audience identifying as female, according to the most recent viewing figures released by Nielsen. For the series star, Alan Ritchson, the viewership isn’t a surprise because the readership of the novels that the series is adapted from — written by Lee Child — are as equally beloved by men as they are by women.

As for why, Ritchson offered his own theory to GQ. While he (and therefore, Reacher himself) are both conventionally attractive men and look as if they’re chiseled out of granite, one would assume that the main appeal of the character would be linked to romantic fantasy.

But for the actor, it’s something slightly more comparable to wanderlust, and the idea of independence and freedom. Reacher is a man of independent means, who travels where he pleases, takes the odd job, and never wants to be tied down. For those trapped in an unfulfilling life, that doesn’t sound half bad, does it? Ritchson explains:

“It’s confounding. The readership of the books is an unexpected demographic: just as many women read these books as men. There was an interesting article about how people say ‘men want to be him and women want to sleep with him,’ but there’s an independence and freedom to Reacher that women clearly want, too.

We assume freedom is a male mentality, but a lot of women share the same desires. I guess part of the success is that there was wish fulfilment for a lot more people than first expected.”

How Much Muscle Did Alan Ritchson Gain to Play Jack Reacher?

Image via Prime Video

Of course, the fact Reacher looks the way he does is still a big factor in the character’s appeal, no matter the noble remarks of the man tasked with bringing the brick house military officer to life, with heart, warmth, and charisma.

Reacher is built like he’s made of elephant hide, and Ritchson had to work hard to look that way, but it came at a cost. The actor revealed the work on getting that physique actually rendered his body devoid of testosterone, and steroid use was approved in order to maintain his physique as well as keep his body in balance.

“I went from 205lb to 235lb in eight months, I was eating a tonne. I don’t think all of that was muscle,” said Ritchson. “A good chunk was – a little more than half, maybe.

But I didn’t take steroids, I didn’t take testosterone. There was only one way to get where I needed to be and that was hard work. I fucking wrecked my body, dude. It was too much. I didn’t have time to heal. I would strain something, and I was like, ‘I don’t care! I’m working through it!’ I suffered the consequences.”

Ritchson continued, revealing that he required surgery due to the amount of overworking he’d done at the gym, and now with testosterone treatment, he’s able to keep going at the rate required to look like a god, luckily for us. He said:

“When I finished [season one], I needed surgery. I couldn’t breathe well. I got a blood panel done and found out I had no testosterone left [because of overtraining]. My doctor was like, ‘You need to be on testosterone.’ [Testosterone therapy] was a real gift because now I’m able to easily maintain that size.”

Reacher can be streamed in its entirety on Prime Video. Filming for Season 3 is now underway. Stay tuned at Collider for further updates.