Season one of the highly anticipated and critically acclaimed crime drama, “Cross” has been released on Prime Video. Based on the legendary Alex Cross novels written by James Patterson, this series was created by Ben Watkins.
In a tour-de-force role, Aldis Hodge stars as “Alex Cross,” a Washington, DC homicide detective and forensic psychologist tasked with stopping an elusive serial killer and solving another murder mystery that hits close to home.
What differentiates this show from other procedural crime series is the character development and the writers’ intentionality with the inclusion of Cross’ home life. Not only is Cross entrusted with leading high-profile cases at work, but he’s also balancing the responsibilities of fatherhood while processing immense grief following the passing of his wife.
When asked about the importance of highlighting Cross’ grieving process in the show, actor and executive producer Aldis Hodge told the Sentinel, “Showing a Black man being vulnerable, grieving and accessing his emotions helps other young brothers coming up understand what masculinity actually is. Sometimes we get a skewed perspective of what [masculinity] is supposed to be or what we think it is, which is all brute force, ‘I’m not gonna cry, I’m not gonna show you.’
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“But what happens there is you stunt yourself emotionally and you’re not able to access who you truly are, therefore you can’t move through the world in your honest nature.”
Hodge continues, “So when it comes to showing how Cross moves through things, the fact that he has to fight for himself, and he doesn’t shy away from it, shows that it’s okay, in fact, it’s necessary, and it’s not a weakness by any means. It is actually a strength.”
The meticulous character development also extends to the villains in the series. For fans of actor Ryan Eggold’s previous work in the NBC series, “New Amsterdam,” his portrayal of Ed Ramsey in “Cross” is definitely a departure from his former role as a virtuous doctor.
When asked if it were challenging to play such a duplicitous role Eggold tells the Sentinel, “Yes. To go from a character whom I loved, Max Goodwin [in “New Amsterdam”], who was all heart and empathy, and someone I lived with for five years, to shed all of that and jump into this role that was a character who completely lacked empathy, who was cold, remorseless, ruthless, and manipulative, as an actor, that challenge was exciting.”
Near the end of the eight-episode season, there’s a shocking plot twist that the audience won’t see coming. Explaining the thought process behind giving Cross a personal and professional villain, Watkins revealed, “I always knew that we were going to do two stories, one we called ‘Fanboy’ to put Cross up against a villain that could match wits with him, and also match him in terms of charisma and the ability to push buttons and read people as well as Cross can, we did that with Ed Ramsey.”
Watkins continues, “I also wanted to have Cross in jeopardy. When you’re building a hero character, you have to be careful not to create a superhero, so you have to show flaws, and real human characteristics, and one way to quickly do that is to put them in jeopardy. So, we planned for another storyline that’s active the entire time, but you don’t realize the stakes until later and deeper into the season. You realize these stakes are life and death as well, but it’s on a personal side, and we called that our stalker storyline.”
The showrunner goes on to say that intertwining two separate storylines was difficult and he wasn’t sure if it could be done but upon completion, “…It turned out to be one of the highlights of the season,” said Watkins.
While the revelation of the secondary storyline may be perplexing to some, what makes it more fathomable, is remembering that at the crux of “Cross” is a story about family and friendships, in particular the brotherhood between Cross and his best friend, fellow detective John Sampson. Actor Isaiah Mustafa gives insight into the preparation that he and Aldis did prior to filming that translated seamlessly on screen.
“Aldis and I, we did a ride along and we talked to detectives in the MPD (Maryland Police Department). We had a three-hour session with a forensic psychologist and another detective where we just talked about the work and the toll it takes on someone when they become a detective and how that affects their home life.
“After that moment we really did bond and we were able to bring that to our characters. And it’s not something that we talked about doing, it was just something that happened organically and that’s how you got that friendship and that bond on screen,” said Mustafa.
Concluding, “Cross” is a riveting series that should be lauded during awards season. From the directing to the cinematography and of course the acting, the ensemble was well cast. Actress Eloise Mumford gives a standout performance with a mastery of non-verbal acting in her role as Shannon Whitner.
Outlining reasons that make “Cross” worth watching, Mumford said, “If you love the adrenaline rush of being on a roller coaster with all of the ups and the downs, twists and the turns, then this is the show for you.
“And underneath all of that, it’s a story about the power of love and the strength of family. It’s soulful in a way that just adds to the complexity of both the thrills and also the heart. I’m really excited for people to see it.”
Watch season one of “Cross” on Prime Video.
