The opening scenes of Cross make it clear that detective Alex Cross (played by Aldis Hodge) and his childhood best friend and fellow detective John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa) are facing a new kind of villain in season two of the Prime Video series based on the bestselling novels by author James Patterson. And if the new season seems ripped straight from the headlines — specifically, from the infamous Epstein files — the sex trafficking plot was actually written back in 2022/2023.
When season two begins, viewers meet a beautiful young Hispanic woman named Luz (Jeannine Mason), who hides on a boat traveling to a remote island, perhaps in the Caribbean, to make a liquor delivery for a wealthy businessman named Richard Helvig. Luz’s accomplice, Donnie (Wes Chatham), makes the delivery to Helvig’s home while Luz hides on the boat. After Donnie and security personnel make their way to the mansion on the hill, Luz makes heads up the hillside to the house overlooking the ocean.
Upon entering the house, Donnie surmises there is an orgy-type party going on. The house is filled with older men and barely clothed young women either being chased or made to perform sex acts. Luz makes it upstairs to Helvig’s studio where she finds him about to abuse a crying, chained young woman. She orders the woman’s release while holding a gun on Helvig and tells the woman to meet her at the boat connected to the dock. She then tells the millionaire a story while emptying his bank accounts and preparing to systematically bring hell upon him with a sharp knife.
Meanwhile, Donnie has made his way to a big, circular room within the mansion where several men are participating in orgy events. He holds an automatic gun as men try to flee from the area. Donnie orders all of the women out and begins to throw Molotov cocktails to trap the men, who die in a blazing inferno. All of the women end up on Luz and Donnie’s boat where they are driven to safety.
Donnie (Wes Chatham) and Rebecca Luz (Jeanine Mason) make a delivery at the home of a wealthy businessman named Richard Helvig, and disrupt an orgy-filled party with older men and younger women.
In season one, homicide detective and forensic psychologist Cross had to chase down a serial killer making threats to his family. Cross’ creator, writer, showrunner and actor Ben Watkins says the three-episode season premiere highlights what’s different this time around. “There’s this question about, what’s the difference between the law and justice? And, what do you do when it doesn’t seem like the law is serving justice?” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The second season is about vigilantism and when it slips into vengeance, how far is too far? You might be rooting for somebody because you agree with why they are doing something, but eventually they might cross a line and you find yourself rooting for a monster.”
There are also sub-storylines in season two, with one touching on a theme carried over from season one. One of the most intense moments toward the middle of the season two premiere, “Harrow,” is about a lady named LaDonna DuVernay, who was brought into the precinct and charged with murder. She professes her innocence but claims she can’t give details unless she can speak with John Sampson. When Sampson finally agrees to meet with DuVernay and hear her side, she quickly reveals her true motive: she is Sampson’s mother, who left him without a trace as a little boy, and who the police officer believed was dead after becoming an orphan and being raised by Cross’ grandmother.
For Mustafa, this storyline hit close to home. “I grew up without a father in the house for a majority of the time. So that was an easy place to go to,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “But there is something about the connection between a son and his mother that is a little bit deeper, and the connection seems to have more resonance. That is something I had to find. And it was, honestly, something where I had to dig deep and put myself in that situation. Where would I be if this was happening and I had to put some trust into somebody who abandoned me at one point in time?“
Matthew Lillard joined the season two cast as billionaire Lance Durand.
Ian Watson/Prime Video
Another B-plot continues from season one in exploring the relationship of two Black cops who come from the community they are policing. This could be precarious territory, given the negative history many Black communities have reported having with police departments. But Hodge says real-life Black police officers like Cross and Sampson may have a better relationship with the communities they come from than what’s generally perceived.
“The thing that I love about the show is that we get to expose the other facets of who we are in the best iteration,” Hodge tells THR. “Oftentimes, we do hear about the separation of law enforcement and community. But where you find yourself in that homogenous space is when law enforcement is of the community, when they become community.”
He continues, “I grew up having some not-so-great interactions with police, and not a great image of police due to those interactions and prejudices lobbied against me. But I also grew up knowing police officers within the community who simply gave people respect, gave them a chance, who weren’t trying to hem people up 24-7. That’s what we highlight here through Cross and Sampson understanding and being aware, even though they are police, that they are community first. They are Black men first. They understand that they have the power to stand between the lines of oppression that may come from somebody on the side of law, and protect people in the community who may not be full-on criminals, who may have had a couple of bad days and had to resort to the lowest common denominator trying to survive, and say, ‘I’m going to try to understand you. I’m going to try to give you a chance.’ It’s powerful to see it because it’s important that people know that’s what we need.”
Mustafa recounted a ride-along that he did with Hodge and D.C. police officers while preparing for the series. “When we did that ride along, we felt that was real,” Mustafa says, as Hodge nods in agreement. “The real cops were up in the community, and everybody respected them when they were walking us around. Nobody treated us any differently. We’ve also spoken to cops who, through the years, have been in that rock and a hard place position. They were like, ‘Look, I’m a Black detective, I have been on the force for 10 years. I know my community doesn’t trust me. I know I work in a racist environment at a precinct, and I understand when I go talk to my people that I know how to talk to them, because I know what they’re afraid of. I know what they fear, and I cannot be that. I can’t represent that.’ For those that do it, we appreciate it.”
The Alex Cross character first appeared in a book by bestselling author Patterson more than 30 years ago. Patterson recently told THR that he has been delighted with the Prime series’ interpretation of his most beloved character.
“The novels started a long time ago,“ Patterson said. “What I like about this series is that it’s more realistic about what happens with a cop in Washington these days. I love how Alex and Ben have made the character more complex, more conflicted.”
With more than 30 publications that reference Alex Cross and his surrounding core characters, including the recently released Cross & Sampson, Patterson said fans should not assume that the Cross streaming series is just an extension of his novels.
Watkins added that he and Patterson agreed about this from the beginning.
“We considered it our responsibility to create a show where, if you’re a fan of the book series and you tune into the show, you’re going to see the world and the characters that you love, and it’s going to honor that book series that’s so beloved. But the stories are going to be original. I even had a conversation with James Patterson ahead of time because I wanted to let him know, ‘hey, I’m looking to do original stories. I hope you’re okay with that.’ He was open to that and encouraged it because [he understood] If I can do original stories, I can actually tap into how we feel today and what is happening today.”
Then he added, “And if you are a fan of the books, then we’re just giving you an extra gift. It’s building onto the pantheon.”
Cross is now streaming the first three episodes of season two on Prime Video.