The news is that John Krasinski announces the final Season of Jack Ryan premiere date on Amazon Prime. However, I’m not interested in the release date, which by the way is June 30th this year. Instead, I’m more excited by the fact this is the FINAL Season of Jack Ryan because it means maybe there is a chance someone else can do this franchise justice.
Here is all the official blurb from Krasinksi about the premier date. If you like the show, go ahead and check it out. Since I actively despise the show, I won’t bother.
Ready to report? The #JackRyan team has a message. pic.twitter.com/eutxSd66JA
— Jack Ryan (@JackRyanPV) May 9, 2023
Instead I want to focus on what happens next with this franchise. Do Amazon continue to hold the rights for several more years? Are instead the rights now up for grabs by another studio? I’m really not sure, however I’ll guess Amazon still has them for now. Either way, the question should now be, how do we make a success of this franchise and how do we make money from it.
Well, let me tell you. If there are any studio execs out there, copy this. Though, I’m sure if you checked online you’ll find a similar opinion to mine from any fans of the book series. See, that’s the thing. Ever since the movie Clear and Present Danger all the studios have simply stopped trying to adapt the books (don’t come at me with Sum of all Fears) that made the franchise famous in the first place. From that point on every script writer on the planet reckoned they could carve a better plot than Tom Clancy. (Narrator: They were wrong!). Therefore when Amazon got the rights I wrongly assumed they were going to do it right this time. (Narrator: They didn’t).
So what should they do?
How To Make A Successful Jack Ryan TV Series In the 2020’s
Here is what you do. You A, adapt the books in chronological order, and B set them in the time period they were written for. Jack Ryan and his many adventures are set within the world as it was during the Cold War. That’s why so many studios have turned away from the books, because there is no longer a Cold War happening. Yet, that was always the wrong call to make. The way to make a successful Jack Ryan series is to hire a cast for multiple seasons and hire some great writers to ‘adapt the books’ in chronological order. Then commission 1 series per book, and profit, win awards, etc.
Follow HBO’s Lead
This would allow us to follow the cast across a decade like HBO is doing with Harry Potter or they did with Game of Thrones. The best thing is, if the series is a hit, then they can also carry on to the sequels. Those star Jack Ryan Jr. and are set in the more modern era we live in now. However the real gold is the original best sellers written by Clancy.
Without Remorse may be the only book I would not film in order. It comes first chronologically, but stars the real ‘action star’ of the Ryan universe, John Clark. You may remember one of the worst films to hit the screen as Amazon tried to adapt this book recently? It still makes me shudder how badly it was adapted. Therefore, I would do as a spin-off further down the line once Clark’s current story has had time to unfold. Plus, since Clark is a secondary character that does not always appear in the main series, it would allow the actor to eventually get a lead series for themselves. If that is a success, this could then be expanded into Rainbow Six.
Sure, that means a remake of Patriot Games for Season 1, however the sequel Red Rabbit has never been adapted, so we’d be straight into fresh ground in Season 2 and a change of pace.
RELATED: Jack Ryan Risks Everything To Save The World In Season 3 Trailer
It should all be set in the 1980’s with old cars, the Berlin Wall, and the constant threat of Nuclear War. There are 9 main books starring Jack Ryan. Therefore we have 9 series, starting at Patriot Games and ending at The Bear and the Dragon. Within that run you could have two off shoot spin-off series. Without Remorse which would be a prequel, and Rainbow Six which would happen concurrently with the main series. This is a great series of stories and I think adapting them well would make for a hit adult drama TV series.
By the way, I’ve actually nothing against Krasinski as Ryan. Krasinski’s a decent Ryan actually, it’s the truly horrific writing on that series which baffles me.
Will it ever happen like I hope? I dunno, maybe not, so get ready for some hack writers take on Jack Ryan in the future or something like that next. Why spend all that money on rights to not adapt the books? It’s mental when you think about it.
The news is that John Krasinski announces the final Season of Jack Ryan premiere date on Amazon Prime. Good I say, hopefully whoever gets a shot at this next will have the sense to just adapt the bloomin books and save themselves a lot of hassle.
What do you think, do you agree with my criticism and my ideas for how to save this franchise? Share any thoughts you have below as always.
