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Cross
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James Patterson's iconic Washington D.C. detective and forensic psychologist is back in a big way with Cross. The upcoming Prime Video show serves as the fourth adaptation of Patterson's character, with Morgan Freeman having played him twice in the psychological thrillers Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, before being surpassed by Tyler Perry in the 2012 franchise reboot, Alex Cross. This time around, the eponymous detective is being played by Aldis Hodge, best known for his work in the Leverage shows, as well as the Invisible Man reboot, Turn: Washington's Spies and Black Adam, among others.
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Unlike the prior three films, Cross will be taking an original approach to adapting Patterson's franchise, not adapting any one specific novel, but instead creating a new case with some iconic characters appearing. The show will follow Hodge's Cross and his partner John Sampson in their efforts to track down a sadistic serial killer who seems to have ties to his past. Outside of the case, Cross finds himself still struggling to move on from the murder of his wife a year prior and left to raise their two children on his own.
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Alongside Hodge, the ensemble Cross cast includes Boy Kills World's Isaiah Mustafa as Sampson, SEAL Team's Alona Tal, New Amsterdam's Ryan Eggold, Chicago Fire's Eloise Mumford, Underground's Johnny Ray Gill, Altered Carbon's Sharon Taylor and Orphan: First Kill's Samantha Walkes. Created and showrun by Hand of God's Ben Watkins, the show is already off to a strong start on Prime Video, earning a season 2 renewal six months ahead of its premiere.
In honor of the show's panel at New York Comic Con, Screen Rant interviewed Watkins, Hodge, Mustafa, Tal, Eggold and Walkes to discuss Cross, how they went about updating Patterson's novels and hero for the modern day, what to expect from their various character arcs this season, as well as their general excitement for season 2 on the horizon.
Watkins Didn't Find It "That Hard" To Make Alex Cross A Modern Hero
"...you've got to tell the truth, and some of those truths are things that are challenging."
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Screen Rant: Ben, congratulations. You've made Alex Cross cool once again. I was really impressed by how updated it was, even with Alex having to deal with being a Black man who is a cop at a time when those two things are not necessarily aligned. Can you talk about that?
Ben Watkins: Yeah, I think it wasn't that hard, actually, to make it updated. There's two things. Number one, if you read the books, you already have a 360-degree character, and you don't always get a chance to do that in a movie, because you only have a certain amount of time. In a television series, I actually get a chance to play in all of the sandboxes that make up Cross, and the people around him. So, I think that actually is a refreshing version of Cross. And I think the second thing was we decided to tell stories that are new, and that gave us the flexibility to really tap into what's happening in our world right now.
If you do decide to do that, you've got to tell the truth, and some of those truths are things that are challenging. Things like the relationship between law enforcement and the Black community. I think that's a great conversation to have. Things about friendship, mental health, those are all things that are real-world themes that play out in our series, but they're not things where we get up and preach. People don't want to get preached to. They are things that we just sit there and tell the truth through the character's eyes and let the conversations happen.
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Hodge Says His Cross Will Get A "Vast Fullness" Previous Adaptations Never Got
"...it keeps me full, as an artist."
Aldis, you are walking in the footsteps of some great men; Tyler Perry, Morgan Freeman. But by the end of season 1, and with a season 2 renewal, you have maybe spent more time in those shoes than they have. What was your favorite element of Cross' life to really delve more into?
Aldis Hodge: I think that, for me, I see our execution of Cross as just one element, which is the vast fullness of his entire world it's alluding to, if we get to explore that. We get to see the cop, not only that, we get to see the father, we get to see the family man, the friend. We get to see the vulnerable person that may not have all the answers, and is still trying to find out. I get to play a very full-scale being who is intentional, sometimes makes a mistake here or there, but he gets to be honest, and that's the thing that I love the most.
So, the fact that we get to explore that episode by episode by episode means that the potential is never ever fully exhausted. We have different levels to go. Every episode, every season, there's more potential to me, and we keep meeting it and keep beating it. So it keeps me interested, it keeps me full, as an artist. It keeps me satisfied and, honestly, very happy.
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Mustafa's Sampson Is The Friend That "Every Man Needs"
"...not afraid to bring [you] to a higher power to be who [you're] supposed to be..."
Isaiah, Sampson is the man, the friend that every man needs, even if they don't necessarily want to hear what Sampson had to say. Can you talk about being that shoulder to lean on and also kind of the reasonable one in this duo sometimes?
Isaiah Mustafa: I think you nailed it when you said that every man needs a friend like that. He's somebody that is not afraid to talk to them the way they need to be talked to, and not afraid to bring them to their higher power to let them be who they're supposed to be, and that's who he is. That's his brother, his partner. When Cross is hurt, he's hurt.
When Cross is feeling good, he's feeling good, but he's also trying to make sure that the highs don't get too high, and the lows don't get too low. So, it was a really fun character to play. It was just, like Aldis said earlier, Ben's writing was so amazing. There's a conversation, Ben and I had about that dating throughline, as to who Samson was, and I just let that ride out. I think when you watch the season, you'll see what their product is.
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Elle & Alex's Relationship Mirrors The Real "Ebbs & Flows" Of Love
"...there are moments where you question whether that was the right person..."
Samantha, Elle seems to have boundless patience when it comes to Alex. She obviously has a deep love for him, but how far is too far? Is the relationship tested this season?
Samantha Walkes: I love how carefully you phrase that question. [Laughs] Without giving too much away, like any relationship in real life, or what you watch in fiction, television, film, there are these moments where you question whether that was the right person, whether that's the right relationship. I think that is what keeps this interesting. So, there's never one time where we'd say, "This is it. This is the one." That would be the end of the show. [Chuckles] But this is more interesting to watch, a real-life depiction of love having its ebbs and flows, and I think that's what keeps it exciting.
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Tal Is Careful Whether To Say Kayla Craig Is Connected To An Iconic Book Villain
"...you will see it develop in the future seasons."
We have Kayla Craig, whose name might set off alarms for her book readers, one. Number two, what can you tell us about her dynamic, her working relationship with Alex at the start of the season and where we might see it go, if we have several seasons, hopefully.
Alona Tal: Well, in this season, she's one of the inner sanctum of people that he can rely on and go to when he needs a little bit of assistance here and there with the case, specifically, that we're dealing with in this season. She's a trustworthy person to him in this season, she's a person that will also try to be truthful, but she's one of the people that helps them through and through, and you will see it develop in the future seasons. I can't give you [more], I can't say it.
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Eggold's Ed Ramsey Is The Embodiment Of "The DC Elitist"
"...my character helps elucidate all the love and the fight for justice or truth..."
And then another one, Ryan, Ed Ramsey. I have been told with my eyeballs that he is shaping up to be a formidable antagonist. Can you talk about meeting Alex in the first episode and where you go from there?
Ryan Eggold: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I think Ed Ramsey fits into this world as really a reminder of why we need heroes like Cross. He's somebody who embodies blind ambition, no matter who gets hurt, get out of the way, selfishness, greed, power, lying, manipulation, all these things, sort of the DC elitist. We can look around the world today and see certain things like that. I think that my character helps elucidate all the love and the fight for justice or truth that is in the show, and is this guy's job.
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Aldis Hodge: And I want to just touch on with every single character in the show, the thing that I really, really enjoy about the show. We're in the world of Cross, but their intrinsic value is not wholly tied to Cross. They have their own lengths. Every single person has their own story, has their own journey. And you're going to see when you watch, it's going to be groups of people who are going to have their favorites, but everybody carries their own. So, in this show, you get to follow multiple worlds that just connect to this one big ecosystem that keeps it interesting, it keeps it unpredictable, and at times, it just keeps it sexy and dangerous.
Ryan Eggold: I was just going to mention, to add to that, watching this show and everybody's work is the sense of reality that everyone's created, and the reflection of our society back to us on the truth. I think that's what's fresh about this Cross for me, when I see cases in it, is that it's steeped in the nuance and complexity of our reality.
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Cross Season 2 Will Be Even Bigger Than Season 1
Watkins Also Teases It May Be Coming Sooner Than Expected
So then lastly, but not least, since I know we do have a season 2, and we are not beholden specifically to the novels, do each of you have one thing you'd like to see for your character in season 2?
Ben Watkins: I just want to preface this by saying if you do have something, I hope that it will be something you did see, because it's already shot. [Laughs]
Aldis Hodge: Season 1 is crazy, season 2 goes off.
About Cross
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Starring Aldis Hodge, Cross is a crime thriller series that follows ALEX CROSS, a decorated D.C. homicide detective and forensic psychologist who faces a sadistic serial killer leaving a string of bodies strewn around the city. As Alex and his partner, John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa), track this killer, a mysterious threat from Cross’ past appears, aiming to destroy what he’s done to keep his grieving family, career, and life together. Ryan Eggold, Alona Tal, and Johnny Ray Gill also star; Ben Watkins serves as showrunner.
Check out our other NYCC 2024 interviews here:
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- Jason Blum on Blumhouse 2025 Slate
Cross premieres on Prime Video on November 14.
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Source: Screen Rant Plus
Cross (2024)
TV-MA
Crime
Mystery
Cross follows the titular Alex Cross, a detective and forensic psychologist particularly adept at understanding and analyzing the minds of killers and their victims. Cross uses this prowess to bring murderers to justice.
- Cast
- Aldis Hodge , Jennifer Wigmore , Mercedes de la Zerda , Sharon Taylor , Siobhan Murphy , Stacie Greenwell , Ashley Rios , matthew lillard
- Release Date
- November 14, 2024
- Seasons
- 1
- Streaming Service(s)
- Prime Video
- Franchise(s)
- Alex Cross
- Writers
- Ben Watkins
- Directors
- Craig Siebels , Nzingha Stewart
- Main Genre
- Crime
- Creator(s)
- Ben Watkins
- Interviews
- Cross
- New York Comic Con (NYCC)
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