First look: Cross

Good news for fans of Alex Cross, the Washington D.C.-set detective series penned by James Patterson: a brand-new TV adaptation is currently in the works!

Due to be shown on Amazon Prime Video, Cross could be gracing our screens as soon as later this year or early 2024. Here are all your questions answered with what we know about the series so far…

Who plays Alex Cross?

Alex Cross will be played by Aldis Hodge, who’s proved his acting chops with roles in Straight Outta Compton (2015), Black Adam (2022) and City on a Hill (2019-2022), making him a top choice for the show’s eponymous lead.

Other cast members include Ryan Eggold (90210, The Blacklist), Isaiah Mustafa (NCIS, IT), Alona Tal (Supernatural), Johnny Ray Gill (NCIS), Eloise Mumford (Fifty Shades of Grey), Siobhan Murphy (Hellmouth), Sharon Taylor (Bad Blood, Smallville) and Stacie Greenwell (NCIS, Mayor of Kingstown).

Who’s making the series?

Heading up the behind-the-scenes action is showrunner Ben Watkins, the creator of another Amazon series, Hand of God starring Ron Perlman.

Paramount is the driving force behind the series’ production. The TV studio behind the wildly popular Yellowstone, the critically-acclaimed Yellowjackets and other shows (without the word ‘yellow’ in their title) is on a winning streak at the moment, so big things can be expected from Cross.

Also involved in production is Skydance Television, which bodes well for fans of crime book adaptations since it was also behind the excellent Jack Reacher series released on Amazon not so long ago. Skydance also produced Amazon’s high-budget fan favourite Jack Ryan, which itself is an adaptation of the late Tom Clancy’s hugely successful spy novel series.

Patterson himself is heavily involved in the creation of Cross too, which is always a reassuring sign with a book-to-screen adaptation.

How will the Alex Cross TV series compare to previous adaptations?

James Patterson devotees are keeping their fingers tightly crossed in the hopes that the television series will fare slightly better than the so-so film adaptations that we’ve been served up by Hollywood over the years.

Dedicated performances from Morgan Freeman in Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001) and Tyler Perry in 2012’s Alex Cross entertained audiences but left hardcore fans feeling a little flat.

It’s hoped that the TV series format will offer greater opportunities for plot and character development, and in turn create a fuller, more pleasing and complex narrative world around the widowed Washington D.C.-based investigator.

How about the plot?

We have yet to learn which book the series will draw from. Along Came a Spider, the first book in the Alex Cross series, is a logical assumption, though producers may be keen to showcase a storyline not yet explored on-screen.

Where and when can I watch it?

When the Cross TV show finally hits small screens, viewers will need an Amazon Prime Video subscription. It currently costs £8.99 per month and includes free Prime delivery on all Amazon orders.

As for when we’ll all be able watch, the official release date has yet to be announced.

Filming is underway, having begun back in January of 2023. Assuming that post-production goes smoothly, we can expect to be able to watch Cross at the end of 2023, or early 2024 at the latest.

What does the future hold for Cross?

If all goes to plan and the series finds an audience (which seems very likely), fans of James Patterson’s work could be in for a whole heap of sleuthing treats. There are, after all, a whopping 34 books in the Alex Cross series so far.

Patterson has also been signed to create TV versions of his bestselling Women’s Murder Club and Michael Bennett series, as well as his upcoming books Jane Smith and Holmes, Marple & Poe.

In other words, there’s plenty to look forward to.