What if the Chicago you see in Neagley isn’t actually Chicago? Prime Video’s Reacher spinoff takes viewers into Frances Neagley’s world with a mix of real Chicago locations and Canadian stand-ins. Toronto provides much of the city backdrop, Pickering brings the rural action, and Wrigley Field adds a genuinely Chicago moment to the series.
About Neagley
Neagley is an action crime series created by Nick Santora and Nicholas Wootton for Amazon Prime Video. It is a direct spin-off of Reacher, based on the character Frances Neagley from Lee Child’s bestselling novels.
The show follows Frances Neagley, a private investigator based in Chicago and a former military protégé of Jack Reacher in the Army’s 110th Special Investigations Unit. When she learns that a close friend has been killed in what looks like a suspicious accident, Neagley puts herself on a dangerous path to uncover the truth, and the menacing evil behind it.
The show is set firmly in Chicago, Illinois, which shapes its visual identity from the very first episode. But where the cameras actually rolled tells a very different story.
Where is Neagley filmed?
Principal photography for Neagley Season 1 began on February 18, 2025, and wrapped on June 7, 2025. The production used the working title “Dutch and Knuckles” during filming. Shooting took place across two countries: Canada and the United States, with Toronto, Ontario serving as the primary base and Chicago, Illinois as a secondary location. Here’s a detailed breakdown of each location.
Toronto, Ontario – The Heart of the Production
Most of the shooting was done in Toronto. The city has earned the nickname “Hollywood North” for good reason. Many American productions come to Toronto to shoot because the costs of filming in Canada are significantly lower than in the US. In most movies and shows shot in Toronto, the city fills in for another American location.
Toronto’s adaptable architecture is a huge part of this. The city can convincingly double for Chicago, New York, Boston, and countless other American metropolises without significant alteration. Its diverse built environment, advanced studio infrastructure, skilled crew base, and generous Canadian tax incentives all make it a first-choice destination for major productions.
Reacher was also spotted during the filming of Neagley, confirming his guest appearance.
Alan Ritchson spotted filming ‘Neagley’ in Toronto
by u/millz420 in reacher
Other well-known productions that have filmed in Toronto include Suits, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Boys, Degrassi, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and American Psycho. Suicide Squad (2016) used towers in Toronto’s financial district to double as an American city, and the same trick has been used countless times since.
For Neagley specifically, the production team settled on Ontario, particularly Toronto, as the primary filming location. The cast and crew filmed across several areas in the metropolis to paint the visual canvas of the action thriller.
The Lakeview Restaurant, Dundas Street West
One of the most recognisable specific Toronto locations used in Neagley is The Lakeview Restaurant on Dundas Street West.
The diner was used for important meeting scenes and has an extra connection for viewers familiar with Reacher, because the same restaurant was previously used for meetings in the parent series.
That makes it one of the more interesting stops for fans who enjoy spotting location continuity across connected shows. The Lakeview is a classic Toronto diner, nothing extraordinary on the outside. But that ordinariness is exactly what makes it work on screen. It is the kind of place where a difficult conversation feels grounded, where characters can sit across from each other with coffee and talk about things that could change everything.
Fans of the Reacher universe who visit Toronto can add The Lakeview to their filming location itinerary. The restaurant is open to the public and operates as a regular diner when no cameras are rolling.
Pickering, Ontario
Neagley doesn’t stay in the city for long. The investigation takes Frances into increasingly dangerous and isolated territory, and for those sequences, the production moved out of Toronto entirely and into the rural areas of Pickering, Ontario.
The production used the less urban landscape of Pickering to create the isolated setting of the Echo Canyon Farm compound. Filming in the area included sections around Sideline 32 and Seventh Concession Road, where temporary road closures were required during production. The countryside provided a sharp contrast to Toronto’s cityscape and Chicago’s dense streets, giving the series room for larger tactical sequences and the compound raid scenes.
Pickering sits in the Durham Region, east of Toronto, and its open farmland and quiet rural roads are very different from the downtown core. For a show that needed to place its characters in a remote, isolated compound, it was the right fit.
Productions regularly use the greater Ontario region this way — urban districts for city scenes, rural townships for anything that needs open land, distance, and atmosphere. Neagley made full use of both within the same production schedule.
Sideline 32, Pickering
Sideline 32 forms part of the rural Ontario backdrop used for Neagley, with its quieter roads and open surroundings helping create the remote atmosphere required for the Echo Canyon storyline.
This is a very different visual proposition from the Toronto soundstages or the Chicago street shoots. Sideline 32 in Pickering is exactly what it sounds like, a sideroad cutting through Ontario farmland, the kind of road that looks unremarkable until a production team arrives with cameras, lighting rigs, and stunt coordinators. Then it becomes a compound perimeter, a surveillance point, a getaway route.
For viewers interested in the nuts and bolts of location filming, Pickering roads like Sideline 32 demonstrate how productions find the specific combination of geography, isolation, and accessibility that a scene requires, and then transform it completely.
Seventh Concession Road, Pickering – Rural Ontario’s Quiet Power
Seventh Concession Road in Pickering also features among the rural production areas used for Neagley. The road and surrounding countryside helped provide the physical setting for scenes involving the isolated compound and its surrounding action sequences.
Together, Sideline 32 and Seventh Concession Road give Neagley its most visually distinct sequences — the moments when Frances moves away from the city entirely and into territory where backup is far away and the stakes feel immediately higher.
It is a smart production decision. The contrast between Chicago’s dense urban grid and this open, rural Ontario landscape gives the show genuine visual range across its eight episodes.
Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
Here is where Neagley does something most productions avoid: it films on location in the actual city the show is set in, inside one of the most iconic venues in American sport.
The most important Chicago location is Wrigley Field, where the production filmed directly inside the famous baseball stadium. A sequence was shot in Section 131 during an actual Chicago Cubs game against the Chicago White Sox, with the real crowd becoming part of the scene.
That is about as authentic as television gets. No extras needed, no crowd simulation, no green screen — just a real Cubs game with thousands of genuine fans providing the backdrop for a scene between Frances Neagley and Jack Reacher.
Wrigley Field sits at 1060 West Addison Street in the Wrigleyville neighbourhood on Chicago’s North Side. It is the second-oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball. The stadium is known for its ivy-covered outfield walls, hand-operated scoreboard, and the distinctly old-school atmosphere that has made it a cultural landmark well beyond baseball. For Neagley, it serves as the kind of authentic Chicago detail that no amount of Toronto street dressing could replicate.
The scene set at Wrigley is also notable for what it represents narratively: it is one of the moments when Jack Reacher appears as a guest character, attending the game with Neagley in a sequence that reviewers specifically called out as a standout from the entire season.
Other productions that have filmed at or near Wrigley Field include Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), The Blues Brothers (1980), and various Chicago-set dramas that have used the ballpark as an establishing landmark. For Neagley, it is not just background – it is part of the story.
LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois
The second major Chicago on-location shoot took the cast and crew to LaSalle Street, right in the heart of the city’s financial district.
LaSalle Street’s dense collection of imposing buildings and busy urban streets makes it a natural setting for the series’ faster-paced thriller sequences. The location helps establish the visual identity of Chicago, particularly for scenes involving movement through the city and the more intense side of Neagley’s investigation.
LaSalle Street runs through the Loop, Chicago’s central business district. It is lined with some of the city’s most recognisable early 20th-century architecture – the Chicago Board of Trade building at its southern end, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago nearby, and a canyon of stone facades that feel both imposing and distinctly American. It is exactly the kind of street that says “Chicago” without any signage or exposition needed.
Productions have used LaSalle Street to double for American financial power for decades. The Dark Knight (2008) filmed extensively in Chicago, including in the Loop district. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) used Chicago streets for its climactic sequences. The Fugitive (1993) — another Chicago-set thriller — is among the classic productions that used the city’s streets to maximum effect. Neagley joins that tradition with its own sequences in the financial district.
Behind the Scenes
Neagley had a long road from concept to screen.
The idea for the spin-off was first developed by Nick Santora and Nicholas Wootton following the success of Reacher Season 1. Following the first season’s hit success, talks of a spin-off were initiated by Santora and Wootton in an attempt to further explore Lee Child’s world.
The first season of Neagley was announced in October 2024 by Prime Video. Filming began February 18, 2025 in Toronto and wrapped June 7, 2025.
Maria Sten, who plays the title character, announced the end of filming on social media: “That’s a wrap on #Neagley season 1! 🎬 This story is so so special, folks. I cannot wait for you all to see what we’ve cooked up! I hope you’re ready cause it’s gonna be a wild one!”
The show is produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Paramount Television Studios, with Skydance Television also involved in the early stages of production. Executive producers include Santora, Wootton, Lee Child (the original novelist), Don Granger, and Lisa Kussner.
Alan Ritchson, who plays Jack Reacher in the parent series, also posted on Instagram during production, confirming his guest appearance. The production employed a stunt double for Maria Sten across all eight episodes, with Ashley Kraayeveld serving as Sten’s stunt double throughout the season. A full stunt coordinator team handled the series’ action sequences, which critics have noted as one of the show’s strongest elements.
A second season was greenlit sometime in 2026, before Season 1 had even premiered, a sign of confidence from Amazon in the show’s potential.
Neagley Cast: Who’s Who in the Series
Starring Maria Sten as Frances Neagley, the ensemble cast features Greyston Holt as Detective Hudson Riley, Adeline Rudolph as Renee Birdwhistle, Jasper Jones as Keno, Matthew Del Negro as Pierce Woodrow, and Damon Herriman as Lawrence Cole. Alan Ritchson guest stars as Jack Reacher.
Here is a full breakdown of the main cast and their characters:
| Actor | Character | Notes |
| Maria Sten | Frances Neagley | Lead; reprises role from Reacher |
| Greyston Holt | Detective Hudson Riley | A cop seeking redemption from a shady past |
| Adeline Rudolph | Renée Birdwhistle | Posh colleague with her own agenda |
| Jasper Jones | Keno | Street-smart teen who assists Neagley |
| Matthew Del Negro | Pierce Woodrow | Series regular |
| Damon Herriman | Lawrence Cole | Villain role |
| John Bregar | Mason | Appears in 7 of 8 episodes |
| Rebecca Liddiard | Judith Gray | Appears in 5 episodes |
| Jhaleil Swaby | Tommy Crane | Neagley’s friend whose death triggers the plot |
| Alan Ritchson | Jack Reacher | Guest appearance |
It should be noted that Neagley suffers from haphephobia, a profound fear of physical touch which was established in the Reacher series. Reacher explicitly respects this boundary, and she is one of the very few people he trusts with his life entirely. This psychological detail is a major part of how the show differentiates Frances Neagley from her mentor and gives her a distinct identity.
Maria Sten is a Swedish-American actress who first appeared as Neagley in Reacher Season 1 in 2022. Before that, she worked primarily in short films, including projects she also wrote and directed. Neagley is her first leading role in a major streaming series.
Also read: Where to watch Neagley? Is Reacher in Prime Video spinoff?
Neagley Ratings and Reviews
The reviews for Neagley are largely positive, with a few notable reservations.
The Neagley spinoff holds a 90% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on critic reviews. That places it behind all four individual seasons of its parent series, Reacher. Reacher Season 1 earned a 92% approval rating, while Seasons 2 and 3 both reached 98%. Season 4 sits at 94%.
On Metacritic, Neagley holds a weighted average score of 69 out of 100. That matches Reacher Season 1’s Metacritic score of 69 exactly.
Here is how major publications weighed in:
| Outlet | Score / Rating | Key Comment |
| Rotten Tomatoes | 90% Tomatometer | Fresh; strong action, praised lead performance |
| Metacritic | 69/100 | Matches Reacher Season 1 exactly |
| The Hollywood Reporter | Positive | “A satisfying series when it keeps its focus on well-executed action beats” |
| Collider | 7/10 | Solid rating for a debut spin-off season |
| The Daily Telegraph | 4/5 | “Entertaining bonus for fans that’s both different to and the same as Reacher“ |
| Variety | Mixed | Noted the show lacks the gravity of the original without Reacher at its centre |
| The Seattle Times | Positive | “Leans into Reacher’s strengths, but it’s not afraid to try a few new things” |
Critics describe Neagley as a satisfying series when focusing on well-executed action beats, but note that it becomes tedious when exposition takes over. The show explores Neagley’s character psychology, including her haphephobia and past traumas, while maintaining a focus on action and chemistry with the supporting cast.
Audience reception has been strong. The spin-off stood at 84% from audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The show reached number two among Prime Video’s most-watched TV shows worldwide in its first days on the service.
The consensus among viewers who enjoyed it is straightforward: if you liked Reacher, you will find plenty to like here. The action sequences are well-executed, Maria Sten carries the show with confidence, and the Chicago atmosphere, whether real or Toronto-recreated, gives it a strong visual identity.
Final Thoughts
Neagley is the first major attempt to expand the Reacher universe beyond its title character. The filming locations tell their own story: a show about Chicago that was built almost entirely in Canada, with precise, purposeful on-location shooting to anchor the story in its actual setting. Wrigley Field gives it authenticity. Toronto gives it scale. Pickering gives it danger. Together, they create a Chicago that feels real — even when it is not.
Whether you are watching for the action, for Maria Sten’s performance, or just to see if the Reacher universe can survive without Jack Reacher in the frame every episode, Neagley delivers something worth your time. It is available now on Prime Video, all eight episodes, ready to binge.
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