Cross Season 2: Prime Video’s Chance To Redeem Its Bosch Replacement

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Prime Video could have created another fantastic detective show, similar to Bosch. While they haven’t quite achieved that yet, there’s still a chance for them to turn things around and deliver a great series.

Prime Video has become a great place to find shows dads love, like Reacher and Jack Ryan, but Bosch stands out as the most captivating. Starring Titus Welliver, Bosch ran for seven seasons and consistently received high praise from critics.

The original series continues to have a lasting impact, as its spin-off, Ballard, is also doing well on Prime Video. Another new crime thriller on the platform hoped to achieve similar success to Bosch, but its first season didn’t quite capture what made Bosch so popular.

Cross Could Have Been Prime Video’s Next Big Thriller, But Its Adaptation Approach Weighed It Down

Prime Video has found success adapting popular crime novels, with both the Harry Bosch and Jack Reacher series becoming hits and solidifying the platform’s strength in the thriller genre. Given that Cross is also based on bestsellers by James Patterson, it had the potential to be just as critically and commercially successful as those other shows.

Viewers weren’t thrilled with the first season of the show, mainly because the main character wasn’t portrayed as the brilliant detective from the books. Instead, he often came across as a typical action hero. The show’s version of Alex Cross also made choices that felt rash and didn’t fit with the character’s established personality.

I really wanted to love Cross, but honestly, some of the plot points felt a bit forced and unbelievable, which kept it from being truly great. It had so much potential to be a major hit for Prime Video, especially if they’d stuck closer to the original story. I was hoping it would be the next big crime thriller on the platform, but it just didn’t quite get there.

Following Reacher’s Adaptation Style Can Still Fix Cross In Season 2

With the cancellation of Countdown on Prime Video, it’s clear that not every show gets a second shot. Luckily, Cross has been renewed for another season and now has a chance to improve on its first season. Cross initially struggled because it tried to be too similar to Bosch.

Rather than basing each season on a single book, the show attempted to combine elements from multiple novels into a new story. However, since this approach didn’t work well for the Cross series, it would likely be better to follow the Reacher model: adapting one book per season and staying true to the original source material.

James Patterson’s novels already provide a great storyline for the show. The Prime Video series would likely be more successful if it closely followed those existing plots, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel like Bosch did.

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2025-11-03 03:28