Αmazon Prime Video's New No.1 TV Series Could Be The Next Reacher

Amazon Prime Video's latest hit series, "Cross" is very much in the lineage of shows like "Reacher" and "Jack Ryan. "Reacher" broke records when it hit Prime Video, immediately proving popular with its pulpy action driven by a true mountain of a man in Alan Ritchson, who finally gave fans a book-accurate Jack Reacher. Those novels, written by British author Lee Child, are immensely popular in their own right, which all but guaranteed that the streaming adaptation would — much like "Yellowstone" — become a hit with dads across the world.

There's not much to the "Reacher" formula beyond "Big man who's good at punching people goes around punching people." Of course, there are a few dad-centric accoutrements, such as Reacher being a former military policeman and a sort of tacit conservatism that undergirds the whole thing. But essentially, "Reacher" is like John Wick with a big boy in the lead. Similarly, the John Krasinksi-starring "Jack Ryan" is adapted from the Tom Clancy novels and follows a preternaturally gifted CIA agent who always manages to come out on top.

Now it seems Amazon Prime is eager to double down on the success of both series with "Cross," a show based on the "Alex Cross" books by James Patterson about a Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC) detective. In the series, Alex Cross is a forensic psychologist and D.C. Metro Detective played by Aldis Hodge ("Black Adam"), who tracks down serial killers. (It's this serial killer aspect which offers something a little different from the other shows of this kind.) There have already been three film adaptations based on the character, beginning with the 1997 Morgan Freeman-led film "Kiss the Girls," but he's now made his streaming era debut. And once again, it looks like Prime Video has struck gold, as "Cross" is currently dominating the streamer's most-watched TV charts.

You can tell "Cross" is in the "Reacher" sphere simply by comparing the promotional art for the two series. Both feature a very serious man looming over us with very little else in frame, as if the mere presence of a tough-looking dude is enough to sell us on the show in question ... which, it seems, it is. According to streaming viewership tracker FlixPatrol, "Cross" is a global mega-hit, charting in 111 countries as of November 18, 2024, and hitting number one in 92 of them — including the United States.

That's pretty impressive considering the eight-episode first season only dropped on November 14. Even more impressive is the fact that "Cross" also debuted in the number one spot in 60 countries, the U.S. included, and has merely continued to top the most-watched TV charts in more and more countries as the week has gone on. In fact, in all 111 countries in which this show is charting, it hasn't dropped below number three, and looks poised to move into the first position in a further 18 markets.

In other words, "Cross" is about as big a hit as Amazon could have hoped for, and signals that the appetite for shows of this nature very much remains. Or rather, Prime Video's continued effort to corner the dad market is working very well for the streamer.

For those who don't want to read 35 full books, it's much easier to watch the three Alex Cross movies in order to familiarize yourself with the character. Whereas "Reacher" and "Jack Ryan" clearly both appeal to a certain conservative sensibility, simply by virtue of being fronted by tough white guy action archetypes who are presented as unquestionably noble, the new "Cross" series will be a fascinating experiment to watch. While the show has initially proven to be hugely popular, we'll see how it fares as the weeks pass and dads across the world grapple with the racial politics of the show, which aside from featuring a Black lead also has a storyline focused on Defund the Police/Black Lives Matter activists.

Regardless, this is clearly a strong debut for the show, which, as FlixPatrol shows, only faces any real competition from "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" in the number two spot stateside. Otherwise, the TV chart features "Fallout" and even "Reacher," both of which have been around for some time and don't present any real threat to Alex Cross' first streaming outing — all of which means this latest action thriller series from Prime Video will have a good run at proving its worth over the coming weeks.

Thus far, a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes bodes well, though it isn't quite the 92% and 98% that seasons 1 and 2 of "Reacher" received respectively. Still, things are looking good for "Cross" and Prime Video, as well as the future of media clearly aimed at a more conservative audience. It's the same trend highlighted by the success of "Top Gun: Maverick" in 2022, the ongoing success of "Yellowstone," and Netflix's attempt to get in on the action with its own "Yellowstone"-style series "Territory." As such, it makes a lot of sense for Amazon to have renewed "Cross" for a second season (via Deadline) before the first even aired, with the streamer clearly confident that Alex Cross will become their new Jack Reacher.

"Cross" season 1 is now streaming on Prime Video.