Cross Season 2 has its finger on the pulse.
When it comes to telling timely stories, Cross has consistently proven that its strength lies in authenticity. Keeping it real and relevant while bringing one of the most iconic literary characters to life is where this Prime Video hit shines.
The excitement for its sophomore season is palpable. And it’s no less for series creator Ben Watkins, star Aldis Hodge, and the incomparable Matthew Lillard!
We were fortunate to participate in a press junket for the upcoming season, which debuts on February 11 with a pulse-racing three-episode run before it settles into weekly releases.
And it’s a season that will definitely keep viewers glued to the screens. But it’s also a strong conversation starter.
In the age of watercooler series dwindling from our screens, Cross Season 2 aims to rectify that under Prime Video’s new release model. And it’ll benefit incredibly from that, as the sophomore season has a lot to say, and it doesn’t hold back.
The second season promises to be bolder and more dangerous.
It’ll focus on billionaire businessman Lance Durand contacting the FBI upon receiving a creepy death threat. And by creepy, we’re talking bloody fingers!
The threat itself connects him to another billionaire, a dead one. Thus, Alex Cross will join a joint task force with Agent Kayla Craig in an effort to protect Durand and find a ruthless killer unlike any other.
After a strong first season, the next one sounds positively thrilling.
The challenge of having a successful first outing is figuring out how to elevate the series. And it’s not something that Ben Watkins took lightly.
Expanding the character development, especially for characters beyond Alex Cross, was a priority for him and a challenge.
For Watkins, delving deeper into these characters while maintaining a common theme that ties them together was a choice he wanted to execute well.
“We founded some themes in Season 2 around questions, around who’s good and who’s bad, who’s right and who’s wrong, what’s the difference between the law and justice, and where do they stand in that equation?” He shares with us.
The sophomore season aims to expand the characters surrounding Cross and, in doing so, informs much of Cross’s character as well.
If you’ve followed some of our other work, you know we sometimes struggle when series don’t value their secondary characters.
But Cross doesn’t have that problem.
“I don’t want the folks around my hero to just be functionary. I want them to be real as well, and almost feel like if there was a spinoff, I would go watch their show. You can’t do that if you don’t build out their lives, and it also helps how our understanding of Alex Cross goes down.”
It’s not just the character work that Watkins teases as a selling point for the new season. It’s also the compelling themes it explores and how strikingly resonant they are now.
Cross filmed the sophomore season not too long after the first (roughly three years ago).
One of the most fascinating elements is how timely it feels despite that factoid.
We marveled at how the season seems to have its lens on conversations playing out in our lives, from the streets to political offices.
“I did not anticipate how timely it would be,” Watkins shares.
For Watkins, it’s something that he loves, but it’s also something that he describes a little “unfortunate” mostly because they’re tough topics to grapple with onscreen.
Check out more of what creator, showrunner, and writer Ben Watkins had to say about this season!
The second season will present Alex with many challenges, both internal and external. And frankly, that’s exactly where we like Alex to be. It’s also where Aldis Hodge thrives most in this role.
It seems like Alex is in a great place and ready to tackle the world, but, as usual, life has its moments, and Alex can have a spiral or two.
Who is Alex Cross when he isnt in fight mode? It wouldn’t be fun if we ever found out, now would it?
After Cross Season 1 put him through the wringer, Alex is in a great place, where we are “finding him feeling a bit more confident and self-assured, particularly coming off the last season where he was getting help. And he feels in a good space. And he feels like he’s ready to recapture the life that he wants,” Hodge shares with us.
“When he attempts to do that, everything gets turned upside down. And he’s back in a position where he’s fighting for comfort. He’s fighting for safety. He’s fighting for understanding,” he teases.
And that’s just with his own personal arc. The new challenges he faces on the job are a whole other beast.
For a season that explores the wealth gap, elitism, vigilantism, and who holds power and how they wield it, there are many moments when fiction and reality converge.
“That’s a great piece of writing by Ben Watkins and the team,” Lillard shared. “Three years ago, he wrote this. And right now, it’s happening. It’s in the Zeitgeist every day. And I think that’s what makes this show so exciting to watch.”
We see it most clearly in Lillard’s character, Lance Durand, a billionaire businessman whom Alex Cross must protect but who also challenges him at every turn.
“He is what we love to hate most,” Lillard shared about his character.
“I think that he’s a billionaire with this audacity and confidence who’s out there trying to save the world at any expense. And at the same time, is reckless and doesn’t care about other people.”
Durand sounds terrible, but he’s also brilliant.
In fact, we liken his dynamic with Alex to a chess match, and both actors didn’t hesitate to share some insight on that as well.
Check out their thoughts below!
Cross premieres with the first three episodes on February 11 on Prime Video. Followed by all-new episodes weekly.
Stay tuned for more exclusive interviews, teasing an exciting season, and for more of our Cross coverage.
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