Several streaming services, including Netflix, Apple TV+, and Prime Video/Amazon are pulling out the Dad TV stops these days. For the latter, Reacher has been representing on the Big Guy front and will soon go “undercover” (as if that’s truly possible on a physical note), which brings to mind the constant suspension of belief required from that show’s viewers. Of course, his ridiculous sense of deduction is part of that show’s appeal, but watch out. Amazon will soon present a straight-up detective whose arm muscles aren’t too shabby either and whose abilities to suss out the bad dudes is more believable on the investigative front. In fact, he can climb inside of defendants’ heads while solving murder cases.
Alex Cross, who was previously embodied by Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry on the big screen, will now be portrayed by Aldis Hodge (Showtime’s City On A Hill) to bring James Patterson’s whip-smart forensic psychologist to the small screen. Amazon has already renewed Cross for a second season, so let’s unfurl what we can expect from his debut outing.
Plot
Patterson devotees will likely want to know which of the 30+ Alex Cross books will be tackled for Cross, and that answer might be unexpected because Amazon’s Reacher is adapting specific Lee Child books. However and after Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider received adaptations, Cross is taking a different route in fashioning a plot for the Washington, D.C.-based detective who owns a wide variety of criminals from serial killers to bank robbers.
Cross (for at least the first season) will not be based upon a specific Patterson novel. Rather, as Hodge has revealed to TV Insider, the story “is based on the foundation of Alex Cross” with creator Ben Watkins “tak[ing] the bone structure of that world and fill[ing] it up with… something completely unique,” which Hodge believes amounts to “a beautiful story.”
Do expect the first season to follow the violent death of Cross’ wife and his subsequent desire to take a work hiatus, but he ends up being the department’s only option of nailing particularly troubling serial killer (who is “a formidable opponent for Cross” with “a very specific and unique ambition that drives what he does and why he does it”), as Hodge details:
“He is absolutely looking for his wife’s killer and we explore that through the season. The greatest failure of his life is the fact that he was not able to protect his wife. It affects every facet of his life, it’s what motivates him. You get to see what love means to him after his loss … He wanted to take some time away, but instead, he gets pulled into a very serious and sinister case with a new serial killer moving narcotics and they need him to handle it.”
James Patterson spoke with LA Mag about how he “really like[s]” the ways that the show departs from his books, and he believes that readers will find the series “a little edgier,” and it’s synopsis time:
Cross is a crime thriller that follows the investigations of brilliant forensic psychologist and DC Metro Detective Alex Cross. Together with his best friend and partner Detective John Sampson, Cross delves into the psyches of America’s most insidious killers while fighting to protect his family from the dangers of the criminal world.
Cast
Aldis Hodge is the new Alex Cross, full stop. Additional cast members include Isaiah Mustafa (as Cross’ best friend, John Sampson), Juanita Jennings (as Cross’ grandmother), and Caleb Elijah and Melody Hurd (as Cross’ children), as well as Eloise Mumford, Ryan Eggold, Johnny Ray Gill, Samantha Walkes, Jennifer Wigmore, and Alona Tal. The already ordered second season will add Matthew Lillard, Jeanine Mason, and Wes Chatham.
Release Date
The eight-episode first season will drop in full on November 14. A second season premiere window to be revealed.
Trailer
Aldis Hodge’s presence hits like a fright train, so let it rip:
And a previous teaser: “living rent free,” baby:
