15 TV Shows To Watch If You Like Cross

Alex Cross (Aldis Hodge) might be a great detective, but he is one messy man, which makes him utterly compelling to watch. Based on the popular novels by James Patterson and officially renewed for Season 3, the edgy Prime Video crime drama "Cross" starts by following its title character through his journey of grief after the murder of his wife. Cross also pursues a dangerous killer (Ryan Eggold) whose wealth and power give him a sense of invincibility. In Season 2, Cross takes on another member of the elite class — billionaire businessman Lance Durand (Matthew Lillard) — but this time, Cross and FBI Agent Kayla Craig (Alona Tal) must protect him while identifying the vigilante (Jeanine Mason) working to end him.

"Cross" is less about the procedure of solving a crime and more about diving deeper into everyone involved; the psyche behind their actions and the messiness of the relationships, including an unwise romantic entanglement between Cross and Kayla. 

The wait for new episodes means that fans will likely need something to fill the gap until Season 3, so here is a list of 15 shows with their own messiness and approach to the crime genre.

"Reacher," based on the novel series by Lee Child, leans more heavily on action than "Cross" and makes use of humor when it comes to the obvious formidable strength of its title character. Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) is a former U.S. Army military police officer with combat and investigative experience, which he uses to full effect as he drifts from town to town. Wherever he goes, he has a knack for finding both friend and foe, and no matter what he gets himself into, he knows he can rely on Frances Neagley (Maria Sten), a former member of his old army special investigations unit.

The ride-or-die dynamic between Reacher and Neagley is reminiscent of the one between Alex Cross and John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa) in "Cross." Although they may clash on how a case or mission should play out, they have each other's backs. Different settings, characters, and villains in each season keeps shaking things up, with a Neagley spin-off on the way and Season 5 of "Reacher" already ordered.

Prime Video is on a roll when it comes to book-based programs with eponymous main characters — for example: "Bosch," "Cross," and "Reacher." Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) is an LAPD detective in the Hollywood division who stays laser-focused on bringing justice to victims. He's willing to bend the rules and disobey orders if the situation requires but never breaks his own internal code of ethics. 

Similar to "Cross," Bosch faces personal demons as he digs into the murder of someone close to him. Spanning the original seven-season run and spin-off sequel "Bosch: Legacy," the serialized arcs of "Bosch" allow for complicated cases where the twists and turns will keep you guessing.

What you quickly learn about DCI John Luther (Idris Elba) is that the two biggest constants in his life are that people who get close to him tend to end up dead and his longest relationship is the one he has with his signature tweed overcoat. From creator Neil Cross, the BBC's British cop drama "Luther" introduces a brilliant homicide detective who helps capture heinous criminals, but not without personal cost. His methods sometimes make others question whether he's gone over the edge.

Luther's fascination with delving into dark psyches leads to an entanglement with Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), a psychopathic woman he meets on a case who challenges him in ways that push ethical boundaries. "Luther" is a darker and more disturbing cases than "Cross," but the common social themes and the protagonists' fixations on catching criminals make them feel like kindred spirits.

Watching John Krasinski step into the role of up-and-coming CIA analyst Jack Ryan in a world of global espionage for the Prime Video crime thriller "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" is a good time on its own. But then, when you throw in actors with the gravitas of Wendell Pierce and Michael Kelly to balance out Krasinski's charm, it kicks the whole operation up to the next level. The result is four seasons that culminate with the movie "Jack Ryan: Ghost War."

While "Jack Ryan" takes place on a more international scale than "Cross," both shows feature intricately woven plots that push their title character to make high-stakes decisions that could have disastrous consequences. It could probably skate by on the entertainment value of the action, but the smart writing and a hero you want to root for make this show the whole package.

The Netflix series "The Lincoln Lawyer," already renewed for Season 5, is lighter in tone than "Cross" and focuses on crime and the law from the perspective of a Los Angeles defense attorney. Bringing Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) to life off the pages of the Michael Connelly books gets messy in a fun way. Two ex-wives (Neve Campbell, Becki Newton), an ex-biker (Angus Sampson), and an ex-client (Jazz Raycole) make up Mickey Haller's trusted inner circle. What starts from a premise of the lead character taking cases out of the back of his Lincoln Navigator evolves into an addictive, easily bingeable legal drama.

In A&E's contemporary Western cop drama "Longmire," Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor) is the steady sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. He and Alex Cross are both lawmen and widowers. Longmire prefers to bury his emotional pain and focus on the job. Where one could easily classify Longmire as a grump, his dry wit and dedication to his community still manages to charm.

"Longmire" is a well-written show with extensive character development over six seasons. It takes the time to explore issues of contemporary Native American life and clashes with tribal police, and the scenery and skylines are beautiful to look at. Beyond the crime solving, of particular interest are Longmire's relationships with two very important women in his life — his adult daughter (Cassidy Freeman), and the Philly transplant (Katee Sackhoff) working as his newest deputy.

On its surface, HBO's limited series "Mare of Easttown" might not seem to have much in common with "Cross," but if you dig deeper than the superficial differences between Aldis Hodge and Kate Winslet, you'll realize that their characters start off in similar places. Set in the small suburb of Easttown, Pennsylvania, police detective Marianne "Mare" Sheehan (Winslet) barely holds her own life together while investigating the murder of a teenage mother. Grief permeates all aspects of Mare's life, and she throws herself into work to keep it at bay.

"Mare of Easttown" is both a slow burn and a nail biter, taking its sweet time to unravel its mystery. The town and the characters that inhabit it make the seven episodes worth a watch, but the master class in acting from Winslet and Julianne Nicholson, as Mare's best friend Lori, will entrance you from start to finish.

Set in Northern Ireland, the most thrilling aspect of BBC's "The Fall" is the intense battle of wits between Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) and serial killer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan). A delicious cat-and-mouse game about power and control, there's something truly terrifying about a man with a family at home who handpicks women to overpower and brutally murder.

In "Cross," Detective Alex Cross gets a little too closely involved with Season 1's Fanboy Killer and Season 2's vigilante known as Luz. "The Fall" takes that a step further with a roller coaster ride that allows viewers to understand what broke the man who became a killer. This crime drama is not about discovering who did it since that's answered from the beginning; instead, it's about the why of it all and whether there can ever be a satisfying answer.

If the serial killer element of "Cross" intrigues you, then the Netflix series "Mindhunter" from director David Fincher could certainly scratch that itch, as well. Based on the true crime novel "Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit" and set in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the two seasons follow FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) as they attempt to catch serial killers by studying their psyches. 

Together, Ford and Tench interview captured killers, such as Edmund Kemper (Cameron Britton) and Charles Manson (Damon Herriman), hoping to apply what they learn to current cases. The series feels like it could have continued for at least a couple more seasons, but Netflix never moved forward with "Mindhunter" Season 3.

"Criminal Minds" is one of the longest-running police procedurals, currently in its 19^th season. The FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico is called in by local law enforcement to assist with violent crimes, and the BAU utilizes its collective profiling skills to zero in on an unknown subject, or unsub.

Like "Cross," the characters are there for each other through highs and lows, even if they don't always see eye to eye. Over the years, team members have come and gone, some tragically and some by choice, but the feeling of family always remains. The series has morphed from a network procedural into a serialized streaming format with "Criminal Minds: Evolution."

If you love the messiness of "Cross," it doesn't get much messier than Netflix's U.K. crime thriller "Dept. Q." DCI Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) returns to police work after recovering from a shooting that left him badly wounded. Stuck attending therapy sessions, his prickly attitude gets him exiled to a basement office that he shares with urinals and showers, where he is handed cold cases to solve on his own. A Syrian immigrant (Alexej Manvelov) with a mysterious past and desire for more challenging work, a detective constable struggling with PTSD (Leah Byrne), and his injured partner (Jamie Sives) soon form an effective misfit team.

"Dept. Q" has been renewed for Season 2, which means this ragtag group can continue to solve the unsolvable while peeling back the layers of their own lives.

Based on the Danish series "Forbrydelsen" and with a starkly eerie vibe running throughout its four seasons, there are shades of "Cross" in "The Killing." Character-driven with plenty of suspense, "The Killing" takes a much slower, at times almost glacial approach to providing answers. Starting with a single murder and three distinct stories that revolve around it, that first case doesn't reach a conclusion until Season 2.

The strength of "The Killing" is the co-dependent bond between homicide detectives Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman). It's not to say that you won't want resolution to the mysteries laid out in the interweaving storylines, but the interpersonal dynamics often steal the spotlight.

Set in a quaint coastal community in England, "Broadchurch" focuses on Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman), and the death of an 11-year-old boy. There's no bigger gut-punch than the loss of a child and that lasting grief ripples through the British cop drama, from solving the mystery in Season 1 to pursuing justice in Season 2 and trying to find a way to move on in Season 3. That thread of grief in "Broadchurch" isn't too far removed from how "Cross" deals with the absence of the main character's wife and how he tries to establish a new relationship with his kids.

Where "Cross" focuses on one detective, HBO's "True Detective" takes an anthology approach with different detectives in different years, set in different locations. The similarity comes in with the detailed pursuit of the criminals in ways that often weigh on the investigators, whether that's longtime partners, a trio cooperating across departments, or a reluctant pairing. The fourth season, subtitled "Night Country," saw Issa López take over from creator Nic Pizzolatto to explore a horrifying mystery in frigid Alaska.

One of the best detective TV shows of all time, each season has a top-notch cast of dramatic actors, counting Academy Award winners Matthew McConaughey (Season 1), Mahershala Ali (Season 3), and Jodie Foster (Season 4) among its ranks.

Created by author and former police reporter David Simon, HBO's "The Wire" is the gold standard of cop shows, delving into the Baltimore drug scene through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement. Considered one of the best TV shows of the 21st century, its exploration of society and the institutions that can build up or tear down a community pushes viewers beyond rooting for the good guys and against the bad guys. The large ensemble with many recurring guest stars over its five seasons creates a world that's complex with no easy answers. Like "Cross," "The Wire" is a crime drama that presents perspectives on both sides of the law and showcases the struggles and moral dilemmas that can tip that delicate balance.