Jack Ryan

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan has been a massive hit for Amazon Prime Video since the show first aired in 2018.

With three seasons, it continues to draw in millions of fans who can't get enough of CIA analyst Jack Ryan as he travels the world preventing one disaster after another.

But what is the action-packed series all about, and is it worth watching?

What Is Jack Ryan About?

We meet Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) after he has left the military and taken a job as an analyst at the CIA. When he discovers a money trail that could be funding terrorism, he and his boss, Agent James Greer (Wendell Pierce), travel to the Middle East.

There, they realise they are up against an Islamic extremist named Mousa Bin Suleiman, whose plan is to commit an attack that will throw the United States into chaos.

Then the chase is on. Suleiman heads to France and evades capture while his wife and children flee to a refugee camp in Turkey, only to be rescued by Ryan and Greer.

After plenty of shoot-outs, car chases, hostage situations, threats of gas attacks and a potential ebola virus outbreak, Suleiman makes it to the US, where he is stopped by Jack Ryan from releasing a deadly toxin designed to kill the President.

But is the threat really over? Can the President be saved? And where will Ryan and Greer end up when it's all over?

Jack Ryan Official Trailer

Is Jack Ryan Worth Watching?

Personally, I love a great action tv series and to be honest, Amazon is pretty good at churning them out.

From Reacher to Bosch to The Terminal List, they have managed to secure the rights to some of the best action thrillers available. And Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan is no different.

Let's start with the basics. John Krasinski is excellent as Jack Ryan, an unassuming analyst who finds himself embroiled in the hunt for a terrorist.

Unused to being in the field as a CIA agent, he is the person the audience relates to the most. He's an everyman hero. And his relationship with the veteran Greer really emphasises how difficult some decisions are to make, no matter what orders you have been given.

Production wise, Jack Ryan is on another scale entirely. The sheer breadth of locations, plot devices, characters and twists and turns is enough to keep you glued for all eight episodes in each season.

And that's the other aspect of the show that has garnered so many fans. The plots are multi-layered, complicated and detailed with a lot of players, so you have to pay attention.

It's a credit to everybody involved in the show that it has remained so engaging and interesting, even if it is sometimes a little cliche.

By that, I mean it's easy to target the Middle East or the Russians as the big baddies on the world stage and build a story around it, which makes season 2, focused on Venezuela, a more interesting setting.

If you love action-packed political intrigue, then Jack Ryan will be right up your street, and it is definitely worth watching.

Season 2

If you watched the first season of Jack Ryan and want to know if the second season is just as good, then the answer is yes.

This time Ryan has discovered that a chemical weapons shipment has potentially arrived in Venezuela. At the same time, James Greer, now based in Russia, has identified that a satellite in the area has gone missing.

He joins Jack in Venezuela, and the two find themselves in the midst of a Venezuelan leader's re-election effort. The clearly corrupt President Reyes is being challenged by newcomer Gloria Bonalde, whose own husband went missing over a year earlier.

But when the Senator with Jack Ryan is assassinated, and the Americans find themselves on the wrong side of the Government, Jack must figure out just what is going on, who is trying to kill them and why.

Season 3

A couple of years have passed, and Jack Ryan is now working as a field agent in Moscow in the third season. When he receives information about a nuclear weapon from an asset, he must convince his boss, Elizabeth Wright that it is worth pursuing.

However, when the mission is botched, the CIA hang him out to dry, and Ryan becomes a fugitive on the run across Europe as he tries to figure out what a failed 1969 Russian operation has to do with the assassination of a current Russian Defence minister.

Can he save the world on time? Will the CIA see the error of their ways and welcome him back?

Given that Season 4 is in the works, the obvious answer is yes. But it's how he does it that makes it worth watching.

Jack Ryan Season 4

The good news for fans is that in May 2022, before the third season's release, it was confirmed that the series would have a fourth season.

The bad news is that it will also be the last. For now there is no air date, but we might be lucky enough to see it in 2023.

To soften the blow, a spin-off starring Michael Peña as Ding Chavez is in development. Chavez is a main character in the Ryanverse, a term for the political drama media franchise created by acclaimed author Tom Clancy.

Pena will join the cast of Jack Ryan season 4, which will tie into the spinoff.

Jack Ryan TV Series Cast

Created by Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland, Jack Ryan is based on the characters from the Tom Clancy novels.

As each season is focused on an entirely new case, the cast members below are those that feature in most episodes…

John Krasinski as Dr. Jack Ryan, a former Marine officer working as a financial analyst for the CIA.

Wendell Pierce as James Greer, Ryan's boss and former CIA station chief in Karachi.

John Hoogenakker as Matice, a leading black ops operative with the CIA.

Michael Kelly as Mike November, the CIA station chief in Venezuela.

Betty Gabriel as Elizabeth Wright, Ryan's boss in Moscow.

Michael Gaston as U.S. President Andrew Pickett

Benito Martinez as Senator Jim Moreno

Noomi Rapace as Harriet “Harry” Baumann, a German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) agent.

Jordi Mollà as Nicolás Reyes (season 2), president of Venezuela.

Francisco Denis as Miguel Ubarri (season 2), President Reyes' chief advisor and childhood friend, a concerned general.

Cristina Umaña as Gloria Bonalde (season 2), the major contender in the upcoming Venezuelan presidential election and wife of the missing Minister of Interior and Justice.

James Cosmo as Luka Goncharov, a Russian asset (season 3)

Nina Hoss as Alena Kovac, the President of the Czech Republic (season 3)

Peter Guinness as Petr Kovac, Alena's father (season 3)