‘Cross’ Creator and Stars Explain Epstein-Like Season 2 Opener: “This Season Is About Vigilantism”

The opening scenes of Cross make it clear that detective Alex Cross (played by Aldis Hodge) and his childhood best friend and fellow detective John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa) are facing a new kind of villain in season two of the Prime Video series based on the bestselling novels by author James Patterson. And if the new season seems ripped straight from the headlines — specifically, from the infamous Epstein files — the sex trafficking plot was actually written back in 2022/2023.

When season two begins, viewers meet a beautiful young Hispanic woman named Luz (Jeannine Mason), who hides on a boat traveling to a remote island, perhaps in the Caribbean, to make a liquor delivery for a wealthy businessman named Richard Helvig. Luz’s accomplice, Donnie (Wes Chatham), makes the delivery to Helvig’s home while Luz hides on the boat. After Donnie and security personnel make their way to the mansion on the hill,…