Prime Video’s Cross departs from James Patterson’s novels by building its first season around an original mystery rather than adapting a specific book. The article argues that this gives creator Ben Watkins scope to make the crime thriller feel contemporary, while retaining the central character, his family history and his Washington, DC setting.

Aldis Hodge plays detective Alex Cross, a character first introduced in Patterson’s 1993 novel Along Came a Spider and previously played on film by Morgan Freeman. In the eight-episode series, Cross investigates the death of activist Emir Godspeed, initially treated by police as suicide or overdose, before uncovering a serial killer; the show also follows his search for his wife Maria’s killer and addresses race, inequality and policing.