What to do with the character of Alex Cross has been a hard case for Hollywood to crack. Bestselling author James Patterson introduced the ace detective to the world in 1993 with Along Came a Spider, launching a rich world centered around the hero psychologist and investigator now comprising more than 30 books. That series has collectively sold more than 100 million copies, which is presumably why Hollywood keeps trying to get it right.

Alex Cross first showed up on the big screen back in 1997, with Morgan Freeman playing the character in Kiss the Girls, followed by Along Came a Spider, named for the very first novel, with Freeman again, in 2001. And then in 2012, Tyler Perry took over as the eponymous character in Alex Cross, controversially replacing Idris Elba.

Now stepping into the sizable shoes of the detective, Hodge centres the emotional adrenaline rush of Prime Video’s eight-episode inaugural season of Cross. He can bring it all —acting, physicality, range and more.

 

Mere moments into the very first episode, Alex suffers a devastating personal loss that greatly impacts both his life and work. As a father of two young children — boy Damon (Caleb Elijah) and daughter Janelle (Melody Hurd) — he can’t fully express his grief, making it harder to heal. Helping to pick up the slack is his grandmother Nana Mama, a stellar Juanita Jennings who brings both toughness and compassion to both Alex and his kids.

 

Unlike the other iterations of Alex Cross, there is no race neutrality here. Set in the nation’s capital of Washington, D.C., colloquially known as “Chocolate City” for its high Black population, Cross embraces its setting and its roots, strongly leaning in where other versions ran away.

Out in the streets, Alex and his partner Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa of Old Spice commercial fame), who has also been his best friend since childhood, take the brunt of the “F the Police” sentiment from Emir Godspeed’s sister Malika and his many supporters. They are completely unaware that internally, Detective Cross is the one pushing D.C. Police Chief Anderson (Jennifer Wigmore) to see Emir’s death as bigger. When one of Emir’s friends is killed, Chief Anderson doubles down on her original position. By refusing to accept the politically expedient open-and-shut case, Cross uncovers a serial killer who is at the centre of the kidnapping of Shannon Whitmer ( Fifty Shades of Grey, ), a young white woman with loving parents.

 

Cross also navigates the emotional highs and lows of dating as a widower as he circles back to one-time school classmate Elle (Samantha Walkes), who runs a nonprofit. But work and life don’t separate that easily. Through her, he meets Ed Ramsey ( Ryan Eggold), an eager-to-please rainmaker whom Cross begins to suspect is not who he claims to be. At the same time, Cross finds himself targeted by a stalker, as an item belonging to his deceased wife Maria inexplicably appears in his family’s home, and flowers continually show up at both home and work. Hunting a serial killer and a stalker is a hard and complex task. In the mix is also the nefarious ex-cop Bobby Trey (Johnny Ray Gill) who is an accomplice to many crimes yet beholden to no one.

It’s this complexity that greatly distinguishes this Cross, making it far more realised and gratifying than the previous attempts. Key to it all is that Prime Video and showrunner Ben Watkins treat the Black-led series with the same respect it has given Reacher and Bosch, a development that maybe Hollywood needed another decade to catch up to or that only a streamer could deliver. Everything about Cross is top-notch — writing, acting, cinematography, action, suspense. Amazon Studios and Prime Video know it has a hit in Cross, which is why Season 2 is already in the can.

 

With 30 novels of source material and a series format that gives it all room to breathe, the real sweet spot is that there could be a lot more Cross in our viewing future.

 

Boluwatife Adesina
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Boluwatife Adesina is a media writer and the helmer of the Downtown Review page. He’s probably in a cinema near you.