Amazon Prime Video has picked another storied book character for a new series. According to Deadline, Black Adam’s Aldis Hodge will star and produce a series based on author James Patterson’s (The President Is Missing) Alex Cross. The series was first reported to be in development back in 2020.
Patterson’s Alex Cross is described as a man of contradictions. The single father is a family man with a sense of morality and solid values. But as a detective and forensic psychologist, the lines between duty and obsession are blurred when utilizing his expert skills to profile and catch the most heinous killers. When seeking justice for victims, he develops a dangerous tunnel vision, residual from the grief over his own wife’s murder.
The novel series character has had three well-known film adaptations. Deadline reports Morgan Freeman portrayed the character in the 1997 film Kiss the Girls alongside Ashley Judd (A Time to Kill, Double Jeopardy). Freeman reprised the role five years later in the thriller, Along Came a Spider. The character returned in 2012’s Alex Cross with Tyler Perry (Don’t Look Up, Why Did I Get Married, Too) starring in the lead role.
According to Deadline, Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television will produce the series with Hodge joined by creator and showrunner, Ben Watkins (Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Hand of God), to executive produce. Watkins is joined by Craig Siebels (Burn Notice, The Gifted), Sam Ernst (Daredevil, Haven), and Jim Dunn (Crisis, The Dead Zone). Patterson will executive produce via his James Patterson Entertainment along with Patrick Santa and Bill Robinson (Jeffery Epstein: Filthy Rich, Instinct). Skydance’s Dana Goldberg (Gemini Man, Star Trek: Beyond), David Ellison (Star Trek: Into Darkness, Top Gun: Maverick), and Bill Bost (World War Z, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) will serve as executive producers.
This is Amazon Prime’s second topline crime title pulled from a well-known book series. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan starring John Krasinski (The Office, A Quiet Place) is preparing to air its third season.
Hodge previously served as EP for Showtime’s police drama, City on Hill, in which he starred alongside Kevin Bacon (they/them, Beauty Shop). He also can be seen in Freevee’s Leverage: Redemption reprising his charismatic hacker character, Alec Hardison.