Searching for Your Next Lincoln Lawyer Fix? Prime Video Has the Perfect Alternative
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Viewers searching for a thriller with the same narrative heft and character focus as Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer don’t have to wait for its next season to find their fix. Prime Video has a fine alternative in Cross, the psychological crime series from James Patterson’s novels that is well worth the streaming viewer’s time.
The appeal of The Lincoln Lawyer is hard to put past its central figure, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo’s Mickey Haller. You have a charismatic attorney with an unshakeable moral code making his way through a personal life in disarray. Cross is cut from the same cloth, though it makes the interrogation room its home rather than the courtroom.
A Different Arena, Same Driven Instincts
In Aldis Hodge’s Alex Cross you will find a D.C. homicide detective and forensic psychologist with the same magnetism and intellect as Haller, and a no less firm dedication to justice. But while Haller might make use of legal loopholes and courtroom rhetoric to get what he wants, Cross puts his trust in instinct, raw empathy and behavioral profiling to make sense of a complicated crime.
They are both men working inside institutions that are all too ready to let down those they should be protecting. It is that kind of moral friction which lends Cross the emotional weight and narrative urgency of the Netflix hit. He is not content to simply put the cuffs on; there is an obsession with getting at the psychology of the violence and some measure of closure for the families involved.
Deep Trauma Meets High-Stakes Procedural
Then there is the matter of the unsolved murder of his wife, a haunting mystery that underlies everything from a serial killer case to a high-profile kidnapping. The grief of that loss is evident in every move he makes and keeps the show from being just another procedural. Showrunner Ben Watkins is not afraid of the heavier stuff, integrating institutional friction and generational trauma into the story without slowing the pace.
Hodge is given room to be more than an intimidating professional. One sees the grieving widower and the loyal friend in him, particularly in his rapport with his longtime partner John Sampson. Those are some of the most authentic moments in the series.
Atmospheric Contrasts: Sunny L.A. vs. Shadowy D.C.
The setting does a lot of the work in defining each show. The Lincoln Lawyer has the sun-bleached expanse of Los Angeles, as per Michael Connelly’s writing. Cross is set against the moody, power-broking landscape of Washington, D.C. Visually you can tell by the tight framing and dark palette; the tension is palpable. Still, the grit never obscures the humanity of the lead or his effort to reconcile a brutal job with his family.
The Power of the Serialized Format
You could make the case for the films – McConaughey in 2011 or Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry with their own takes on the Patterson material. But television is where these stories thrive, giving space for subplots and development between cases. Watkins has taken the core of Patterson’s lore and made something of it for today, with Hodge turning in a performance of physical authority and quiet introspection to anchor it.
If the mix of procedure and character in The Lincoln Lawyer is to your taste, Cross is a darker, equally engrossing option that has earned its place on any watchlist.
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