TV Aldis Hodge takes on a creepy masked killer in first trailer for Cross, based on James Patterson's books All eight episodes premiere Nov. 14 on Prime Video. By Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where he covers breaking news, all things Real Housewives, and a rich cornucopia of popular culture. Formerly a senior editor at Out magazine, his work has appeared on NewNowNext, Queerty, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. He was also the first author signed to Phoebe Robinson's Tiny Reparations imprint. He met Oprah once. EW's editorial guidelines Published on September 25, 2024 09:00AM EDT Move over Jack Reacher, there's a new brilliant-but-burly mystery-solver coming to Prime Video. After three film adaptations, James Patterson's famed D.C. detective Alex Cross comes to life on the small screen, portrayed by Aldis Hodge (Black Adam). The titular character 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 also serves as a producer, while Ben Watkins (Burn Notice) is the showrunner and executive producer. Fall TV Preview Aldis Hodge in 'Cross'. amazon prime "I had this sense that he'd be able to bring some swagger, some sex appeal, some edge," Watkins told Entertainment Weekly of his leading man. "But also, I needed someone who was voracious intellectually." “I saw a lot of things personally that I would like to embody but also as an audience member, Things that I wanted to watch,” Hodge added. “I saw a character that was cool, calm, collected, imposing. He was smart, ethical, but had that edge.” Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Cross is the star of 32 Patterson novels that span 30 years, beginning with 1993's Along Came a Spider. That, and its 1995 sequel Kiss the Girls, were adapted into films starring Morgan Freeman as the detective, with Kiss the Girls premiering in 1997 and Along Came a Spider in 2001. Then in 2012, Tyler Perry took over the mantle in Alex Cross, based on the 2006 novel Cross. For the TV series, Watkins wanted to remain more faithful to the novels than the films had been. “When I started down the rabbit hole of reading the books and I rewatched the films, I was making a list of the things that I felt like the films hadn't done justice to,” Watkins explained. That included using Washington, D.C., as the backdrop, Alex grappling with the murder of his wife, cutting to the villain’s POV, and Alex’s lifelong best friend John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa). The 8 must-watch new TV shows this fall “If you've only watched the movies, you wouldn't know [about Sampson],” Watkins said. “Then you get into the books and you're like, ‘This relationship is so layered and so rewarding and so nuanced and comforting.’ They're inseparable, and you know you can count on that. I knew that that was one of the things we were going to have to channel for the show.” Juanita Jennings, Alona Tal, Samantha Walkes, Caleb Elijah, Melody Hurd, Jennifer Wigmore, Eloise Mumford, and Ryan Eggold co-star. All eight episodes of Cross drop Nov. 14 on Prime Video. Check out the trailer below.