Jack Ryan season 3: release date, cast, plot and all you need to know about John Krasinski’s return as Tom Clancy's action hero

Jack Ryan season 3 is finally coming to Prime Video after a three-year wait for more action from John Krasinski's CIA analyst.

The return of Tom Clancy's much-loved action hero ranks as one of the must-see TV shows this Christmas as Jack Ryan finds himself at the centre of a thrilling conspiracy which has potentially devastating consequences.

There are some new faces joining Krasinski and Wendell Pierce as the series criss-crosses Europe and Ryan takes on a new secret Russian pact. Get a first look at season 3 with the trailer at the top of this page.

Here's everything you need to know about Jack Ryan season 3…

When is Jack Ryan season 3 released on Prime Video?

The highly anticipated Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan season 3 launches on 21 December on Prime Video.

All eight episodes will be released at launch.

International filming required for the season and the impact of Covid-19 delayed the show’s production heavily.

Season 2 was released in October 2019.

Vaun Wilmott (Prison Break, Star Trek: Discovery) has taken over as the showrunner for season 3.

Run Jack Run! New season 2 trailer revealed

The countdown to Jack Ryan season 3 is officially on as the latest official trailer has been released by Prime Video (1 December).

'Run Jack Run' is the key message as we watch John Krasinkski's action hero struggling for allies and on the run in his most explosive adventure so far.

The release of the trailer comes 21 days before the third season is released in full to Prime Video customers.

Who is in the Jack Ryan cast?

• John Krasinski - Plays Jack Ryan
• Wendell Pierce - Plays James Greer
• Michael Kelly - Plays Mike November
• Nina Hoss - Plays Alena Kovac (Czech President)
• Betty Gabriel - Plays Elizabeth Wright (CIA Rome Station Chief)
• James Cosmo - Plays Luca
• Peter Guinness - Plays Petr, Nina Hoss
• Alexej Manvelov - Plays Alexei

John Krasinksi (A Quiet Place, The Office) is returning in the lead role as CIA analyst and action hero Jack Ryan.

Wendell Pierce (The Wire) will be back as his colleague and friend James Greer, and season 2’s Mike November, played by Michael Kelly (House of Cards) is also returning.

New cast members for season 3 include Betty Gabriel (Get Out), who will play the CIA Rome Station Chief, Elizabeth Wright.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste originally signed up for the role, but exited the series due to creative differences.

James Cosmo (His Dark Materials) joins as Luca, Peter Guinness (Chernobyl) will play Petr, Nina Hoss (Little Sister) will play Alena and Alexej Manvelov (Before We Die) is cast as Alexei.

Jack Ryan season 2 explained

The show’s second season was largely centred on events in Venezuela, where Ryan ended up on a revenge-driven mission to take down the president Nicolas Reyes (Jordi Molla), who was responsible for the death of Ryan’s friend and mentor Senator Jim Moreno.

Ryan, Greer and Venezuela CIA station chief Mike November eventually make it out of Venezuela alive and bring down the Reyes regime.

At the end of the season, it is also revealed that Senator Mitchell Chapin (Michael O’Neill) was working with Reyes in Venezuela and Jack Ryan brings in the FBI to take away the disgraced political leader.

The story with Chapin brings Ryan closer to the politics of Washington, hinting at the characters presidential future.

Jack Greer struggled with his health in the field during season 2 and is expected to be reduced to managing a station and desk work when he returns for season 3.

What is the plot of season 3?

Season 3 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan finds Jack Ryan on the run and in a race against time.

At the start of the new series Jack Ryan is working as a CIA case officer in Rome, when he is tipped off that the Sokol Project, a secret plan to restore the Soviet Empire, is being resurrected more than 50 years after it was thought to have been shut down.

However, when Jack tries to confirm the tip-off, he is implicated in a larger conspiracy and accused of treason.

Criss-crossing Europe as he is hunted by both former allies and new enemies, Jack races against the clock as he attempts to prevent a global nuclear catastrophe.

Talking to BT TV in 2019 about how the show updates the original Jack Ryan stories, Krasinski said: "Tom Clancy, in my opinion, always acknowledged the time period that they were in. But I think they were removed from the specifics of that time period.

“The Hunt for Red October acknowledges the Cold War, but I don't think anyone would say that it was the most realistic, in the moment, ripped-from-the headlines book.

"It's characters set in the macro. The idea of setting, where you are geographically and where you are in time. It's nice for Jack to feel like a modern day hero, a current hero. But using Venezuela, as far as I'm concerned for Jack, I never saw it as anything political.

"We used it as a backdrop for sure. But the storyline really is a revenge story and trying to avenge a lost and fallen friend."

Will there be a John Clark crossover with Michael B Jordan?

The Clancyverse or Ryanverse was expanded in 2021 when Prime Video released the first John Clark film, Without Remorse, starring Michael B Jordan.

John Clark previously appeared in Jack Ryan movies played by Willem Defoe and Live Schrieber, but Prime Video hasn’t revealed whether Michael B Jordan and John Krasinski’s characters will ever meet on screen.

At the end of Without Remorse a second John Clark film, Rainbow Six, was teased and the movie also included Jodie Turner-Smith as Karen Greer, the niece of Jim Greer.

If Krasinski and Michael B Jordan did team up for a Ryan/Clark series or one-off movie, it would be an awesome combo and a highly-anticipated release for Prime Video.

Is Dr Cathy Mueller coming back?

Jack Ryan’s love interest Dr Cathy Mueller was played by Abbie Cornish in season one, but she didn’t return in season 2 and wasn’t referenced by John Krasinski’s Jack.

Fans are hopeful that the character will return in future seasons, but it doesn’t look like Mueller will be involved in the season 3 storyline based on current casting news.

Where is Jack Ryan season 3 being filmed?

The Prime Video show remains a globetrotting adventure with filming taking place in the UK, Colombia, Russia, Canada, Morocco and the US.

How to watch Jack Ryan

Jack Ryan season 1 and 2 are available to stream now on Prime Video.

Prime Video is available to BT TV customers and can be added to your package online, via contact centres and in BT stores.

How many seasons of Jack Ryan will there be?

Prime Video hasn’t confirmed how long they want the show to run for or how many series John Krasinski is signed up to play Jack Ryan.

However, Deadline reported earlier this year that season 4 will be the final outing for John Krasinski's Ryan.

The report adds that Prime Video is hoping to create a spin-off series based on the Tom Clancy character Ding Chavez, played by Michael Peña (Narcos: Mexico). The character is rumoured to be joining the show during season 3.

Executive producer Carlton Cuse told IndieWire that he believes the franchise “has enormous legs” and that it can keep reinventing itself to tell “geopolitical thrillers of the moment”.

Will John Krasinski’s Jack Ryan become the US President?

In the Tom Clancy book series, Jack Ryan moves from CIA analyst to eventually being elected President Ryan.

However, the team behind the TV series want to focus on the period between those two roles and Ryan’s time in the field.

"That was the part that seemed the most traumatic and compelling,” said Carlton Cuse.

Speaking to BT TV in 2019, Michael Kelly said: “The coolest thing about Jack Ryan is that it could happen anywhere.

"That’s the coolest thing for the audience and the coolest thing for the creators working on the show. You don’t know where the story is going to take you. This show could take you anywhere in the world.

"So I don’t know anything about season three, but I doubt it would happen in DC.”

Jack Ryan season 3 launches on 21 December, 2022 on Prime Video

Watch Jack Ryan season 1 and 2 now on Prime Video