Deadline is reporting that Black Adam star Aldis Hodge is set to follow in the footsteps of Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry by taking on the role Metropolitan Police Detective Alex Cross in an Amazon TV series adaptation of James Patterson’s bestselling book series.
Created by writer-producer Ben Watkins and described as “a complex and twisted thriller”, the series is being produced by Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television, with Hodge also on board to produce as well as star.
“James Patterson is among the best at captivating audiences with his undeniably enthralling novels and we are confident that with Ben Watkins’ artistic vision, Cross will do the same for our global customers,” said Vernon Sanders, head of global television at Amazon Studios. “We are proud to work with James and Ben alongside Paramount Television, Skydance, and the extremely talented Aldis Hodge, who we know will do an exceptional job of bringing Alex Cross to life.”
As per Deadline, the logline for the series reads:
Alex Cross is a detective and forensic psychologist, uniquely capable of digging into the psyches of killers and their victims, in order to identify—and ultimately capture—the murderers. He is brilliant, flawed, and full of contradictions. A doting father and family man, Cross is single-minded to the point of obsession when he hunts killers. He is desperate for love, but his wife’s murder has left him too damaged to receive it.
Patterson’s Alex Cross book series launched with 1993’s Along Came a Spider and has since grown to 30 instalments, giving any TV show plenty of material to work with. The series has also spawned three movies, with Morgan Freeman starring in 1997’s Kiss the Girls and 2001’s Along Came a Spider and Tyler Perry coming on board to reboot the franchise with 2012’s Alex Cross, a box office dud that killed off a proposed sequel.
