It’s the end of an era for Jack Ryan fans, as John Krasinski returns for the fourth and final time as the CIA agent in Prime Video’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.
The Office star Krasinski has followed in the footsteps of the likes of Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine in playing the iconic role from Tom Clancy’s novels, and has taken the character through gripping investigations on home turf and further afield.
This time, Jack Ryan’s on his most dangerous mission yet, as he faces an enemy both foreign and domestic. As CIA acting deputy director, he’s tasked with uncovering internal corruption, but in doing so discovers a series of suspicious black ops that could expose the United States’ vulnerability.
Probing deeper, Jack discovers the convergence of a drug cartel with a terrorist organisation, revealing a conspiracy much closer to home that tests his belief in the system he’s always fought to protect.
Of course, by his side once again is James Greer, played by Wendell Pierce, and Mike November, played by Michael Kelly, who also find themselves embroiled in the tense investigation that even creeps into life outside of intelligence.
“It shows you that he’s trying to take care of things on the home front, because he has been neglectful of his family. And it also shows you that… you can take your work home with you but your work can follow you home at the same time,” says Pierce, 59, of James’s storyline in season four.
“So you see how interconnected the world is, not only the world but how your work in intelligence can have an adverse effect on your personal life.
“So that’s what James is gonna be dealing with this year.”
Kelly, 54, adds that Mike has a “fun little intro” this season, as “Jack summons him to his world again to help”.
“And Mike knows when Jack calls, there’s a damn good reason he’s calling, and I should probably get on a plane and go figure out what’s what,” adds the actor, who’s best known for playing Doug Stamper in House Of Cards.
“I don’t want to give too much away, but Jack calls, I go!”
There’s a good reason why Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan stories have been so enduringly popular, garnering not only a legion of fans of the literature but also of the various screen adaptations.
These gritty stories of corruption are ever-pertinent, and allow viewers a glimpse into a power-hungry part of human nature – which is what the Prime Video series’ stars say makes the show so popular.
“What people find so compelling about our show is it’s someone’s quest for power, and to what lengths they’ll go to to grasp that power,” says Kelly.
“And we see it in everyday real life, and politics. You see it and it’s power, it’s about: ‘I want to, I want, I want, I want’ and that moral compass to stop that when it’s gone too far.”
“It’s really trying to understand and discern and work out where it comes from, that ugly part of human nature, and try to learn from that a little bit about yourself…” says Pierce.
“And to understand that ugly side of human nature, so you can learn to avoid it. Hopefully.
“Some people continue on and double down, and kind of embrace that ugliness of human nature, to ramp it up even more. That’s why we have to be ever vigilant from generation to generation to actually appeal to the better angels of ourselves.
“I think that’s what the story is, the only reason we turn off the lights and look at movies and turn on the television is to see some sort of reflection of our lives, collectively, try to find out what our true north is, and decide on what our values are, and then act on them in our real lives.”
Wrapping up on a final season of any show is always bittersweet, and that feeling is all the more prominent when you have a leading trio who are genuinely close and love working together.
Of course, there’s plenty that the cast of Jack Ryan are going to miss about working on the show – “the world travel… the incredible content that we’re putting out there, that we get to do, that we get to say these words, that we get to play these fun characters”, Kelly lists as examples – but the camaraderie on set is a real highlight.
“It’s that knowledge of knowing that I’m not gonna go back to work tomorrow and laugh so hard that I will have tears rolling down my cheeks,” Kelly continues.
“Literally that happened almost daily, and I’m not exaggerating. We laugh that hard almost every single day when we’re working.
“Not to say we’re just screwing off, because we really work hard, obviously. But there’s always a moment every day… you know, John (Krasinski) is a very, very funny man. And when we get going… the three of us will just die, just laughing, blowing takes and you know, not able to get through things together because we have that much fun.”
“That camaraderie and that fun on set is what I’ll miss as well,” adds Pierce, who is also known for his roles in The Wire and Suits.
“Then just the inventiveness. John loves to work on the fly too, and is just really inventive, really creative, but most of all just so much fun.”
“We’re glad to have it go out on top, and go out with a bang, and all the best parts of it, action, intelligence; but at the same time, it was a little sad, because we had such a great time making it,” Pierce continues.
“Such great characters, and such great writing, and different locations around the world is something that you don’t want to stop. When you got a good thing going, you want to keep it going.
“I guess all good things have to come to an end.”
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Season 4 comes to Prime Video on Friday, June 30, with two episodes available each Friday until the finale on Friday, July 14.
