‘Cross’ Starring Aldis Hodge Officially Gets Season 2 Order at Prime Video
“Cross” is ready for his first case.
The new series from Prime Video, based on the books by bestselling author James Patterson, will debut later this year. You can watch the first trailer for the new series, featuring Aldis Hodge as the title character, above.
“Cross” was created by showrunner and writer Ben Watkins, Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television. Along with the trailer, Prime Video also confirmed Tuesday that Johnny Ray Gill has been upped to a series regular role for the renewed second season, with newcomers Wes Chatham, Matthew Lillard and Jeanine Mason.
According to the official synopsis, Cross “is a detective and forensic psychologist, uniquely capable of digging into the psyches of killers and their victims, in order to identify — and ultimately capture — the murderers.” Hodge leads the cast, with costars Isaiah Mustafa, Juanita Jennings, Alona Tal, Samantha Walkes, Caleb Elijah, Melody Hurd, Jennifer Wigmore, Eloise Mumford and Ryan Eggold.
The character of Alex Cross was first portrayed by Morgan Freeman in two films – 1997’s “Kiss the Girls” and 2001’s “Along Came a Spider.” The film series was given a reboot in 2012 with “Alex Cross,” this time installing Tyler Perry as the title character. Patterson introduced the character in the 1993 novel “Along Came a Spider,” with the nursery rhyme titles continuing for another 10 novels. Starting with book 12 (“Cross”), all of the titles have involved some use of the word “Cross.” So far, there have been 32 mainline novels, two novellas and a trilogy of spin-off books. Nearly every one has been a bestseller.
“Cross” joins other Prime Video series based on beloved book franchises, such as “Reacher,” based on the Lee Child novels; and “Jack Ryan,” based on the Tom Clancy novels, which concluded its run last year (a spin-off is in the works).
“Bringing one of James Patterson’s most iconic literary characters to life for our global Prime Video customers was a dream come true, and we can’t wait for everyone to see Aldis Hodge’s dynamic performance as Cross,” Vernon Sanders, head of television for Amazon MGM Studios, said in a statement. “Ben Watkins and his team have created something unique within the crime-thriller genre that longtime fans and newcomers alike will all enjoy. And with over 30 novels written by Patterson featuring Alex Cross as his main protagonist, it was an easy choice to bring Cross back for a second season.”
“I am thrilled to be embarking on another chapter of Cross. Moments like this don’t happen by accident,” Watkins added. “Getting a Season 2 pick-up before our first season even drops is a huge testament and vote of confidence in the amazing work that our crew, cast, directors, writers and production team have delivered thus far. It’s also a direct result of the unwavering support bestowed upon us by Prime Video and our producing partners at Paramount TV Studios, Skydance and James Patterson Entertainment. I am grateful for all of the above and can’t wait to run it back even bigger and better.”
For Season 1, Watkins serves as showrunner and executive producer, with fellow EPs Jim Dunn, Sam Ernst and Craig Siebels; as well as Patterson, Bill Robinson and Patrick Santa for James Patterson Entertainment; and David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Matt Thunell for Skydance Television.
For Season 2, Dunn and Ernst have been elevated to co-showrunners joining Watkins, while J. David Shanks, Aiyana White and Hodge are being added to the executive producing team.
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