Everything We Know About Amazon Prime Video’s Upcoming Alex Cross Series
James Patterson’s Det. Alex Cross is one of the most enduring characters in crime fiction, having appeared in more than 30 novels since debuting in Patterson’s 1993 book Along Came a Spider. It’s no surprise, then, that he’s been brought to the screen multiple times, although not yet with the same level of success as the Cross novels. Morgan Freeman played Cross in a pair of popular thrillers (1997’s Kiss the Girls and 2001’s Along Came a Spider), but the Cross movie franchise remained dormant until the 2012 reboot Alex Cross, starring Tyler Perry, which was a box-office failure.
Now Cross is set for another reboot sometime this year, though the exact date has not been confirmed, this time on TV, with the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series Cross. The more open-ended format of a TV series seems like a better fit for Cross, with the potential to follow the character across multiple seasons and various investigations. There’s no premiere date set for the new series yet, but details have started to emerge about this new take on Patterson’s long-running Washington, D.C., police detective and forensic psychologist. Aldis Hodge, known to genre fans for his roles on crime dramas Leverage and City on a Hill, has been cast as Cross, alongside Isaiah Mustafa as Cross’ best friend and partner John Sampson.
New Amsterdam’s Ryan Eggold takes on the main antagonist role as Ed Ramsey, a powerful D.C. political operator who becomes Cross’ enemy. The Cross cast also includes Alona Tal as FBI agent (and potential Cross love interest) Kayla Craig, Johnny Ray Gill and Eloise Mumford as Ramsey’s associates, Siobhan Murphy as a crusading journalist, and Sharon Taylor and Stacie Greenwell as Cross’ Metropolitan Police Department colleagues.
The Cross books could provide source material for dozens of seasons, but it’s not clear yet which book creator Ben Watkins will be drawing from for the first season. It seems like a safe bet that Watkins will steer clear of the books that have already been adapted into films, but that leaves him with plenty to choose from. The Freeman films started with Cross’ earliest cases, while the Perry film skipped ahead to a much later book.
Watkins’ credits as a writer and producer include crime dramas Burn Notice and Truth Be Told, and he created the Amazon Prime Video series Hand of God, which starred Ron Perlman as a corrupt judge who joins a fringe religious group. So Watkins has plenty of experience with crafting various types of crime stories, from upbeat episodic adventures to dark, layered serialized drama. Given the current trends for streaming series adapted from well-known books, it’s likely that the first season of Cross will focus on just one of Patterson’s novels.
Whichever Cross book Watkins decides to adapt, he’ll have the perfect starting point for a twist-filled crime drama with a complex character at its center. There’s a reason that readers keep coming back to Patterson’s Cross novels, as Cross takes on deadly adversaries like the Mastermind and the Wolf, while dealing with his own personal struggles and often facing tragedy. Patterson has created a sprawling and compelling saga, with ongoing subplots that carry across novels, just as they could carry across TV seasons.
Amazon Prime Video has had great success with bringing beloved characters like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher to the screen, in versions that offer greater fidelity to the source novels than previous movie adaptations did. There’s every reason to expect that Cross could join those hit series, finally giving Patterson fans the worthy adaptation they’ve been dreaming of for more than 30 years.
Discover James Patterson’s Latest Books
“Drop whatever you’re doing, Detective Cross, and head to Reagan Airport,” DC Metro Police dispatch says. “A jet just crashed and exploded on the runway. The chief and the FBI want you and John Sampson there pronto.”Cross and Sampson race to the crash site. The plane didn’t fail—it was shot down by a stolen Vietnam War–era machine gun. The list of experts who can operate the weapon is short. And time before another lethal strike runs even shorter.
In New York City, three intriguing, smart, and stylish private investigators open Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations. Who are these detectives with famous names and mysterious, untraceable pasts? Brendan Holmes—The Brain: Identifies suspects via deduction and logic.
Margaret Marple—The Eyes: Possesses powers of observation too often underestimated.Auguste Poe—The Muscle: Chases down every lead no matter how dangerous or dark.The agency’s daring methodology and headline-making solves attract the attention of NYPD Detective Helene Grey. Her solo investigation into her three unknowable competitors rivals the best mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Edgar Allan Poe.
Before they can raise their glasses, there’s a disturbance in the restaurant. A woman has been assaulted.
Claire examines the victim. Lindsay makes an arrest. Yuki takes the case. Cindy covers it.
The legal strategy is complicated by gaps in the plaintiff’s memory—and the shocking reason behind her ever-changing testimony.
As Yuki leads the prosecution, Lindsay chases down a high-society killer whose target practice may leave the Women’s Murder Club short a bridesmaid … or two.
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Josh Bell is a freelance writer and movie/TV critic based in Las Vegas. He’s the former film editor of Las Vegas Weekly and the former TV comedies guide for About.com. He has written about movies, TV, and pop culture for Vulture, Polygon, CBR, Inverse, Crooked Marquee, and more. With comedian Jason Harris, he co-hosts the podcast Awesome Movie Year.