Aldis Hodge, Ben Watkins of “Cross” share what makes their Alex Cross special

Three attempts to capture author James Patterson’s massive Alex Cross thriller series flopped on the big screen. But Prime Video is betting that the small screen will be the right home for the titular detective with the new series “Cross,” starring Aldis Hodge, which debuts Thursday.

Hodge’s most notable television roles include master hacker, computer specialist and gadget geek Alec Hardison in the series “Leverage”; Assistant District Attorney Decourcy Ward in “City on a Hill”; and Noah in the slave-era limited series “Underground.” But he said nothing he’s done before is like his role as Alex Cross or “Cross” in general.

“The person that he is, the man that he is, the depths that he goes to emotionally are areas that I haven’t been able to go to before,” Hodge told NBC News. “In this case, it’s unhindered: We’re going to the deep, dark places. We’re going to the fun places, the light-hearted places, the emotionally vulnerable places, as much as possible, as often as we can, to really paint a picture of , who these characters are, what their lives are, in relation to what they do. We’re not just living with the case and the killer and the murder mystery.”

That core world includes Cross’ two children, Damon and Janelle, who, like him, are still grieving the murder of their mother, Maria; his grandmother Nana Mama, who raised him and now helps raise his children; his police partner and childhood best friend, John Sampson; and his love interest, Elle, who runs a nonprofit organization.

Then there is his work.

To create this much fuller world for the series, showrunner Ben Watkins turned to Patterson’s many books about Cross, the 33rd of which will debut just before Thanksgiving.

“The early Alex Cross books really tell a bigger picture of the character and the world, the family, the best friendship with John Sampson, the DC community, and I realized those things weren’t as vivid in the screen adaptations, and I think it’s because they didn’t have that real estate,” Watkins said. “I think when you’re trying to make a thriller in less than two hours, when you’re forced to choose between plot and character, you’re need to do more plotting.”

Telling The Cross story through a TV series gives the producers more room to explore the world and the character. “I knew I could deliver a great thriller,” Watkins said, “but I also had time to combine it with a character study that begs the question, ‘Who is Alex Cross in 2024?'”

Morgan Freeman first played the role of the widowed and quintessential Washington, DC, police detective in the 1997 film “Kiss the Girls,” and then again in 2001’s “Along Came a Spider,” named after Patterson’s first Cross novel, published in 1993. Tyler Perry starred in “Alex Cross” in 2012.

“There’s a lot of the basic core principles that come out of the books, but there’s also an updated version that shows you a cross that I think is more charismatic, has a physical character and is authentically black, and I really wanted portray a character like that,” Watkins said.

“I also wanted to bring in the fact that there is something sexy about this character,” Watkins added. “He has many relationships in the books, and I wanted to have fun with that, because I think all those facets give us a fuller picture of a real person. And I know that this character has to be relatable and real if it’s going to work in 2024.”

It also meant that the series confronted what being “Black and Blue” means to Cross.

“Unfortunately, the tension between law enforcement and the black community is just as real as it is cold in the winter,” Watkins said. “And so I feel like if we’re going to tell a story about a black detective who’s a cop, if you hint that that tension is there, then the audience will know you’re lying.”

Hodge is especially proud to be able to represent the detective as a father in the series.

“It is clear that in the black community we get the stereotype that fathers are not in the home, which is actually not true at all. It’s the opposite coming from two fathers who love their families and love their children,” he said, referring to himself and Watkins. “That to me is one of the biggest elements of who he is and what we get to see and experience with him.”