This New Crime Series Could Be Just What Amazon Needs

Key Takeaways

Cross premieres on Prime Video on November 14, 2024.
The show is based on James Patterson’s Alex Cross books.
The creative team is taking a new approach that may lead to great success.

Cross is the latest crime series set to land on Prime Video on November 14, 2024. The show is an adaptation of James Patterson’s book series about Detective Alex Cross, who uses forensic psychology to solve cases. Aldis Hodge takes on the role of the titular hero, who has been previously been portrayed on the big screen by Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry. This new iteration looks set to be a huge hit on the streamer, and it’s already been renewed for a second season ahead of its debut.

All 10 episodes of the first season of Cross will drop on the same day, meaning fans can binge it all in one go, or savor it in the lead up to the holidays. After the huge success of adaptations of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books, it was inevitable that Amazon would look to James Patterson’s Alex Cross as the next character to get its own television iteration.

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Cross Is The Latest Prime Video Crime Show To Be Based On A Popular Series Of Books And It Looks Incredible

Cross
Starring	Aldis Hodge, Isaiah Mustafa, Caleb Elijah, Melody Hurd, Eloise Mumford, Samantha Walkes, Jennifer Wigmore, Alona Tal, Ryan Eggold, Johnny Ray Gill and Juanita Jennings
Based on the books by	James Patterson
Created By	Ben Watkins

Prime Video’s upcoming crime drama, Cross, is not directly based on any particular books in James Patterson’s series, and instead acts as a prequel story with its own plot. However, it’s bound to draw from major aspects of the books for inspiration. The synopsis for season one is as follows:

Cross is a crime thriller that follows the investigations of brilliant forensic psychologist and DC Metro Detective Alex Cross. Together with his best friend and partner, Detective John Sampson, Cross delves into the psyches of America’s most insidious killers while fighting to protect his family from the dangers of the criminal world.

Cross Will Adapt The Vibe Of James Patterson’s Book Series Instead Of Actual Books And This Approach Could Work Well

Cross season 1 will take place shortly after the death of Alex Cross’ wife, but instead of taking a leave of absence, the dedicated detective is called upon to solve the case of a serial killer. The series was created by Burn Notice‘s Ben Watkins, and he opened up on his approach to Alex Cross’ story in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly:

I said I was not going to do any of the seasons based on the books. I thought it was really important that we give fans a new offering, that we honor the characters and the world so that they would feel like they were getting what they signed up for, but also then give them a new story.

The creative team behind Cross are approaching the source material in a vastly different way to shows like Bosch, Bosch: Legacy and Reacher, which have based each of their seasons on particular books in the series. This is a positive sign as it shows their vision is not being influenced by anything other show out there. It has the freedom to go in its own direction, and this bodes well for the future. Turns out, the author of the Alex Cross books, James Patterson, is on board with this particular direction:

It’s something I say when anybody is developing one of my books or characters: I much prefer the story be brand new. I was hoping the show would be a breakthrough and not dependent on the book, and it’s happened.

It’s always a good sign when the author is fully on board with the television adaptation of his own books. Patterson’s role as executive producer on the show will also be hugely beneficial to the creative team moving forward. Taking into account Amazon’s success with other crime book adaptations, it’s very likely that Cross will be a great success. It’ll only benefit from its inbuilt fanbase, while inevitably attracting new fans along the way. Ben Watkins revealed a bit more information about how each season will function, with a season two renewal already confirmed:

We’re doing a mystery a season. You get to a closed chapter at the end of each season. We hope that people show up for the mystery, but we want them to stay for the characters.

A season-long mystery that gets wrapped up by the end is a format that works very well, and it’ll help to keep things fresh as Alex Cross embarks on his television debut.