Three attempts to capture author James Patterson’s massive Alex Cross thriller franchise flopped on the big screen. But Prime Video is betting that the small screen will be the right home for the titular detective with the new series “Cross,” starring Aldis Hodge, debuting Thursday.
Hodge’s most notable TV roles include master hacker, computer specialist and gadgeteer Alec Hardison in the series “Leverage”; assistant district attorney Decourcy Ward in “City on a Hill”; and Noah in the slavery-era limited series “Underground.” But he said nothing he has done before is like his role as Alex Cross or “Cross” in general.
“The person that he is, the man that he is, the depths that he gets to go emotionally are areas I haven’t been able to go to before,” Hodge told NBC News. “In this case, it’s no-holds-barred: We are going to the deep, dark places. We’re going to the fun places, the lighthearted places, the emotionally vulnerable places, as much as possible, as often as we can, to really paint a picture of who these characters are, what their lives are, in juxtaposition to what they do. We’re not just living with the case and the killer and the murder mystery.”
That core world includes Cross’ two children, Damon and Janelle, who, like him, are still grieving the murder of their mother, Maria; his grandmother Nana Mama, who raised him and now helps raise his kids; his police partner and childhood best friend, John Sampson; and his love interest, Elle, who runs a nonprofit. Then there is his work.
To create this much fuller world for the series, showrunner Ben Watkins turned to Patterson’s many books about Cross, the 33rd of which will debut just before Thanksgiving.
“The early Alex Cross books really tell a bigger picture of the character and the world, the family, the best friend relationship with John Sampson, the community of D.C., and I realized that those things weren’t as alive in the screen adaptations, and I think it’s because they didn’t have the real estate,” Watkins said. “I think when you’re trying to do a thriller in less than two hours, when you’re forced with a choice between plot and character, you’ve probably got to do more plot.”
Telling the Cross story through a TV series gives the producers more space to explore the world and the character. “I knew I could deliver a great thriller,” Watkins said, “but I also had the time to combine that with a character study that raises the question, ‘Who is Alex Cross in 2024?’” Morgan Freeman first played the role of the widower and ace Washington, D.C., police detective in the 1997 film “Kiss the Girls,” and then again in 2001’s “Along Came a Spider,” named for Patterson’s first Cross novel, published in 1993. Tyler Perry starred in “Alex Cross” in 2012.
“There are a lot of the fundamental core principles that come out of the books, but there’s also an updated version that shows you a Cross that I think is more charismatic, has a physicality to him and is authentically Black, and I wanted to really portray a character in that way,” Watkins said.
“I also wanted to bring in the fact that there’s some sexiness to this character,” Watkins added. “He has a lot of relationships in the books, and I wanted to be able to have some fun with that because I think all those facets give us a fuller picture of a real person. And I know that this character has to be relatable and real if it’s going to work in 2024.”
That also meant the series confronting what being “Black and blue” means for Cross.
“Unfortunately, the tension between law enforcement and the Black community is just a reality, just like it’s cold in the wintertime,” Watkins said. “And so I feel like if we’re going to tell a story about a Black detective who’s a cop, if you tiptoe around the fact that that tension is there, then the audience is going to know you’re lying.”
Hodge is especially proud of being able to represent the detective as a father in the series.“Obviously in the Black community, we get the stereotype of fathers not being in the home, which is actually not true at all. It’s the complete opposite coming from two fathers who love their families and love their kids,” he said, referring to himself and Watkins. “That’s something for me that is one of the greatest elements of who he is and what we get to see and experience with him.”
