'Jack Ryan': Wendell Pierce dodged a bullet for Season 2 after CBS canceled sitcom 'The Odd Couple'
Since Pierce was the only actor capable of stepping into the shoes of the CIA mentor's role, it would have been sad if he had to leave the show in Season 2
Wendell Pierce is the only other actor, apart from James Earl Jones, to play the character of Jim Greer in Tom Clancy's 'Jack Ryan'. Greer is the CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence who personally recruited both John Clark and Jack Ryan into the CIA, and later on, becomes Ryan's closest friend and mentor. Jones played the role opposite Alec Baldwin in 'The Hunt for Red October' and Harrison Ford in 'Patriot Games' and 'Clear and Present Danger'.
While Pierce brought his own charisma to Greer's character in the new Amazon series, co-showrunner Carlton Cuse had revealed to Digital Spy earlier that there were high possibilities of Pierce going off the board for the second season.