Television series

Cross

Name: Cross
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Mystery
Released: 2024
Cast: Aldis Hodge, Isaiah Mustafa, Juanita Jennings, Alona Tal, Caleb Elijah

A crime thriller centred on a forensic psychologist detective investigating DC's worst killers. Aldis Hodge brings intelligence and gravitas to James Patterson's signature hero. Smart procedural with genuine stakes—the investigations matter, and so does the family drama anchoring them. For viewers who want their detective shows to think as hard as they punch.

TVMaze rating

3.5

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The wildcard

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Hannibal2013

Both centre on brilliant professionals using psychology to hunt killers while their own minds become the real battlefield. Both understand that proximity to darkness changes you.

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The Wire2002

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Broadchurch2013

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The Killing2011

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Dexter2006

Serial killer masquerading as forensic analyst hunts other killers. Darkly compelling, with a protagonist whose psychology is always the core. Early seasons are genuinely inventive.

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Murder One1995

One murder investigated across an entire season with novelistic depth. Pioneering legal thriller that respects the audience's patience and intelligence. Daniel Benzali commands every scene.

But Slow by modern standards. A legal procedural rather than a detective show. Second season shifts format and loses momentum.

Zodiac2007

A forensic investigation where the mind of the investigator matters as much as the mind of the killer. Both understand that obsession is the occupational hazard of understanding darkness.

Fincher's procedural obsession wrapped around the hunt for the Zodiac killer. Methodical, unglamorous detective work—spreadsheets and leads and dead ends. Intelligence as the engine, not a flourish.

But No cathartic ending. The investigation remains unsolved. Three hours of meticulous frustration.

Memories of Murder2003

The killer's psychology is less important than what the investigation reveals about the investigators themselves. Both ask: what does hunting monsters do to the hunter?

A Korean procedural about detectives hunting a serial killer during military dictatorship. Beautifully constructed, darkly funny, psychologically acute. One of cinema's great investigations.

But In Korean with subtitles. Ends ambiguously—the resolution is internal, not external. Some find the tonal shifts jarring.