Season 3 of Cross is in production and creator and showrunner Ben Watkins revealed that the next chapter of the Prime Video drama will explore addiction through the lens of Alex Cross’ relentless pursuit of justice.
“We need to see this character confronting a different challenge about himself and the people around him, and in Season 3 we have this conversation about addiction because Cross as a detective is really addicted to the hunt,” Watkins said at a Deadline-moderated Q+A at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival. Watkins was joined by Cross title star and exec producer Aldis Hodge and added: “That became a nice theme for us to play with. When you think about people who are addicted and the impact they have, it doesn’t have to be narcotics or alcohol.”
The showrunner sketched a four-season roadmap for the drama, but said it can go for much longer. ”Cross is the type of show that can go forever,” he said. “The challenge is, what is the character’s journey?”
Season 1 of the Amazon MGM Studios and Paramount Television Studios-produced show surged to 40M viewers globally in its first 20 days on the streamer. It ranked as the third-most-watched premiere on the platform in 2025. A third season was greenlit in March.
Hodge, who will be seen in the Road House sequel, explained why he has become so invested in Cross.
“I found relief in the writing,” he said. “What I realized was the immediacy of this character being presented as smart, intellectual, unapologetic, charismatic, raw, dangerous, vulnerable – all of these things without having to submit or compromise his dignity or humanity.
“He’s a Black man walking in the world of police and justice and law, but not having to submit to other people’s bias.”
Watkins added that he tested execs ahead of time to ensure they were fully on board with his mission to have a fully realized Black man as the lead. “One of the messages that I wrote into the script was ‘this is going to be an unapologetic Black man who is amazing at his job and is always the smartest person in the room. I wrote a scene like that and sent it to the executives. I’ve done that before, and had people say, ‘Oh that makes me nervous,’ or ‘Oh, it seems like he’s being too aggressive.’”
Watkins and Hodge also described how they go all out to create an inclusive working environment on Cross.
“You dream of being in a position where you’re a storyteller and being paid to tell stories, and yet you often find yourself in environments that seem motivated by fear and dominated by questions about budget, time and ego,” Watkins said. “I want to be in an environment where I’m reminded that what we do is very rare and can be magic if we approach it the right way. That requires being in the room with the right people with the right mindset.”
Hodge added that mindset extends to whoever is No.1 on the call sheet. “That means you should be number one in line to solve some problems. Some people take it as though people are there in service to them. I disagree. I think that you have to be in service to those around you, because you’re setting the tone for a lot of behavior.”
