30+ seasons could happen for Jensen Ackles' 'Jack Reacher meets Sherlock Holmes' thriller

Jensen Ackles has been looking to lay down roots since Supernatural ended back in 2020. He's not exactly been out of work—he's bounced between roles and shows, but it's mostly been brief stints rather than a proper leading man gig with some staying power. Prime Video’s Countdown briefly dangled that possibility, only for the axe to fall after just 13 episodes. Since then, probably the most reminiscent thing he’s done—if you squint and ignore his accent—is Soldier Boy in The Boys. And yes, the upcoming Vought Rising prequel will nudge his total count of franchise appearances a bit higher, but when you’ve played Dean Winchester in north of 300 episodes, it’s all a bit half-hearted in terms of screen time.

Now, Ackles has officially bagged the lead role in an upcoming MGM+ crime thriller that, on paper, seems to channel the DNA of Reacher and Sherlock Holmes. If any recent gig could stick, you’d bet on this one—he’s tailor-made for the part, and, in theory, the show could run even longer than his marathon on Supernatural (assuming audiences bite).

A Lucas Davenport for the Streaming Age

The show is called Rules of Prey, and if you’ve a passing familiarity with American airport novels, that’ll probably ring a bell. It’s based on John Sandford’s Prey series, which first appeared in 1989 and rarely misses a year—Revenge Prey landed in April 2026 as the 36th entry. So if source material is what you’re after, there’s enough to fuel the thing for a small eternity.

Over 35 Prey novels have been written and released since the series started in 1989.

MGM+ is looking to adapt that world for live-action telly, and there’s plenty that’s inviting the Reacher comparison. Both franchises started as massive book sagas with a new adaptation hitting each season (that’s the idea, anyway). And both focus on violence-prone, tough-but-clever blokes with policing backgrounds who don’t always play by the rules. Ackles is playing Lucas Davenport, who fits that antihero mold—like Reacher, he gets sucked back into cases thanks to personal connections, but unlike Reacher (who’s basically a slab of unchangeable granite with fists), Davenport actually evolves as a character. It's not reinventing the wheel, but there’s enough clever detection, unorthodox solutions and moral dodginess that people are already likening him to a 21st-Century Sherlock Holmes with access to body armour.

Not Every Prey Tale Will Make the Cut

Let’s be realistic—there are 36 books to play with (assuming you were mad enough to try and adapt the lot). Even if Rules of Prey churned out one season per year, you’d be looking at Ackles doing action scenes in his slippers by the time it wrapped. Nothing runs that long, so expect some cherry-picking. Some stories will get left behind; others, already adapted—like Mind Prey (ABC, 1995) and Certain Prey (USA Network, 1999)—are surely not coming along for the ride, at least not in their original form. More likely, the writers will weave certain cases in as off-screen events to move things along between seasons. The big draw early on will almost certainly be Rules of Prey itself, the original origin-story book, since that’s where Ackles’ take on Davenport properly starts. After that, all bets are off, and the debate over which novel makes the cut will probably keep fans squabbling (politely, or not) for a while.