Lies can become ‘Terminal’

Pratt tells how series deals with search for truth, loyalty and revenge

Chris Pratt was more interested in telling the truth about the military industrial complex than glorifying war in “The Terminal List.”

The Prime Video action series, premiering Friday and based on the novel of the same name by Jack Carr, stars Pratt as Lt. Commander James Reece, the lone survivor of an ambush on Navy SEALs while on a covert mission in Syria. But back home in San Francisco, Reece’s mission to find the truth is just starting.

“At its core, it’s a story of finding truth and administering justice and the various ways that justice can be served, whether it’s through accountability in the legal process or through vengeance and the spilling of blood,” Pratt, 43, told the Daily News. “It’s a story of resonating relationships and the impact of profound loss, whether we’re talking about a troop or loved ones.”

Carr is a former Navy SEAL sniper, allowing him to imbue the book with firsthand knowledge and details. For the TV show, the production team brought in technical advisers, a producer and a writer with military experience to provide that authenticity.

Pratt (photo) described them to The News as “people who have really been through this” that were brought on to “see what their take on it is and give them pre-clearance to say ‘bulls—t.’ And they did, often.”

They didn’t want to glorify war or PTSD or even a soldier’s homecoming. More important was the truth of what they saw.

“You can do both: you can be critical of the machine while also supporting the men and women who put their lives on the line,” Pratt told The News. “I think that criticism is tantamount to supporting the mission of our troops when they’re sent overseas.

“There’s a reason why we didn’t get clearance from the Department of Defense to do this series,” the actor added. “It’s not jingoistic. It’s not, ‘Hoorah, look at us, we’re America, let’s go.’ ”

Glen Roberts, chief of entertainment media for the department explained the DoD’s position in a statement to the Daily News.

“We did receive a request to support this particular production, but after an evaluation of the script, we found that certain plot points were not in alignment with the department’s core values, or those of our service members, and therefore, DoD declined to support,” Roberts wrote.

In the new series, Reece’s mission cannot be resolved in the courts, or even with the help of a nosy journalist (Constance Wu). He needs blood.

“For Reece, this was the only option,” Pratt said. “Reece is a man of violence. He was turned into a weapon of war by the military industrial complex and now they have to deal with him.”

Next to him at every turn is his best friend, Ben (Taylor Kitsch), who served with him and now stands as both a sounding board and a partner in crime. At times, he’s a therapist, at times co-conspirator.

“When you have that loss of the brothers and family members, there’s that fine line of where you’re giving him room to figure it out himself and go through the mourning as well,” Kitsch, 41, told The News.

Reece doesn’t take time to mourn, though. He jumps into action, just like the Navy taught him to do. But this time, he’s working against them, not for them.

Pratt paraphrased the old quote, often attributed to Confucius: Seek revenge and you should dig two graves. With Reece’s world torn apart, he has nothing left to lose.

Reece’s revenge is bloody and chaotic. He shoots without thinking or blinking. He has one goal: find the truth about how — and why — his men died.

“He needs his bare hands on these guys,” Kitsch said. “When you go into detail of how you’re going to do it, it changes things.”