James Patterson’s Alex Cross Takes on a New Case in Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Cross’
As extraordinarily prolific as novelist James Patterson is, his books about Washington, D.C., police detective Alex Cross still stand above nearly all of his other work. There are more than 30 Cross books, beginning with 1993’s Along Came a Spider, yet previous attempts at bringing the character to the screen have produced mixed results. The two Cross movies starring Morgan Freeman are forgettable mid-level thrillers that may have gotten lost in the late-1990s glut of post-Silence of the Lambs serial-killer movies, while 2012’s Alex Cross is a mostly misguided reboot starring Tyler Perry.
Now Amazon Prime Video is adding Cross to its lineup of shows named after manly protagonists from popular novel series, alongside Jack Ryan and Reacher. Alex Cross (Aldis Hodge) has a bit in common with both of those characters: Like Jack Ryan, he’s adept at both intellectual analysis (with a Ph.D. in psychology) and real-world action; like Jack Reacher, he’s focused on meting out justice even if that requires going against the system.
That doesn’t mean that Cross is a retread of other shows, though, nor is it simply a variation on the previous Alex Cross movies. Creator Ben Watkins crafts a new story inspired by Patterson’s work, with a mix of characters from the books alongside original creations. Cross brings a sense of social consciousness to the character that makes the show relevant in 2024, without diluting the elaborate (and sometimes ridiculous) mysteries and conspiracies that readers have enjoyed.
The first episode of Cross begins with Alex in an uncharacteristically happy place, deeply in love with his wife Maria and relaxing at a bar with his best friend and partner John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa). That peace is quickly shattered when Maria is senselessly murdered by an unknown assailant, and a year later Alex is still devastated, contemplating taking leave from the police department because he can’t cope with his grief.
It might not be accurate to say that he’s reinvigorated by such a gruesome new case, but investigating the murder of activist Emir Goodspeed does give him renewed purpose, especially because his bosses are reluctant to devote resources to solving what they initially claim is an overdose. Goodspeed was a prominent critic of the police, and Watkins and the other writers make sure to include that criticism in their portrayal of Alex and his colleagues, while still portraying the moral righteousness of Alex’s mission. As Black detectives working within an often racially biased system, Alex and John are confronted with that disparity every day.
While the Goodspeed investigation leads Alex and John to a serial killer they dub the Fanboy, Alex is also dealing with threats on another front, as a mysterious stalker seems to be taunting him with details of his wife’s still-unsolved murder. The show reveals the identity of the Fanboy almost immediately, so that storyline is more about the cat-and-mouse game between Alex and the diabolical, resourceful killer. There’s still the mystery of the stalker, though, which gives the eight-episode season of Cross both an identifiable onscreen adversary (played by Ryan Eggold) and a shadowy unknown threat.
It gets to be a little much, especially when you add in the Fanboy’s gleefully sadistic assistant, giving Cross three different over-the-top villains. But that intensity is balanced out by the sensitivity of Alex’s personal life, as he attempts to remain a present father for his two young children, listens to the advice of his wise grandmother (Juanita Jennings), and tentatively starts a new relationship with longtime friend Elle Monteiro (Samantha Walkes). Hodge makes Alex fierce but vulnerable — he’s a crime-solving genius whose colleagues go quiet when he “does his thing” to piece clues together, but he’s also emotionally stunted when it comes to parenthood and romance.
Hodge and Mustafa have great chemistry as partners and longtime friends (and there’s even an Old Spice joke for fans of Mustafa’s days as a commercial pitchman). Hodge also generates sparks with Alona Tal as Kayla Craig, an FBI agent who worked with Cross on a previous case and is constantly trying to recruit him — both professionally and personally. It’s a shame that their connection seems stronger than the dynamic between Hodge and Walkes, although there is a surprisingly steamy sex scene between those two characters once they finally give in to their attraction.
Patterson fans may be frustrated that Cross doesn’t directly adapt any of his books, but it does offer a more expansive format for depicting the many, many Alex Cross stories — and it’s already been renewed for a second season. It’s not as viscerally exciting as Jack Ryan or Reacher, and it may not become Amazon Prime Video’s next signature hit. But it’s a solid, carefully crafted crime drama with compelling characters who will be worth watching even after they solve the season’s baroque, grandiose murder cases.
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Josh Bell is a freelance writer and movie/TV critic based in Las Vegas. He has written about movies, TV, and pop culture for Vulture, IndieWire, CBR, Inverse, Crooked Marquee, and more. With comedian Jason Harris, he co-hosts the podcast Awesome Movie Year.