Why Cross Season 2 Changes Everything: Aldis Hodge on His Best Co-Lead Ever and Isaiah  Mustafa Going Deeper Into character John Sampson 

Season 2 of Cross is coming in hot, and after sitting down with the cast, it is clear this next run is  aiming for something bigger than just upping the body count or raising the stakes. The series  returns to Prime Video on February 11, and if Season 1 was about laying the foundation, Season  2 looks ready to dig into the cracks and show you what is really living underneath. 

One of the most interesting parts of our conversation was how the emotional weight of the story  is shifting. Cross has always been the type to carry trauma quietly, moving through chaos with  that locked-in focus. But this season, the pressure and the silence start circling around John too,  and the show finally gives that space to breathe. When I asked how much of that was planned  versus discovered in the moment, the vibe in the room made it obvious. The story is mapped, but  the humanity is found in the doing. 

That is where Isaiah Mustafa lit up, because for him, this season is a gift. Not just for the audience, but for the actor who has been waiting to open the character up and really understand  him from the inside. “Who doesn’t want to dig into their character a little bit?” Mustafa told me.  “You want people to understand who the character is, but more so you want to understand who  the character is.” He described the process like completing a puzzle, adding pieces that were  missing before. “It’s like a jigsaw puzzle,” he said, before giving credit where it is due. “I’m  thankful that the writers said, ‘Hey, let’s deepen this storyline. Let’s deepen this character with  some things that go on here.’” 

And then there is the chemistry, the kind you cannot fake and cannot force. Aldis Hodge put it  plainly when the topic turned to how the two leads operate together on screen. “We don’t really  talk about those things too much,” Hodge explained, because the partnership is already dialed in.  “We understand each other enough to know how he’s going to move with me and how I’m going  to move with him.” That level of trust is rare, and Hodge said it has made this show a different  kind of experience for him. “We’re co-leads on this, and he is my, like, this is the best working  relationship… a partner on screen that I’ve had,” he said. The reason is simple. “A lot of these  things don’t even have to be set or figured out. We just kind of go into it and rock.” 

That last line is the perfect summary of what makes this series work when it is firing on all  cylinders. Yes, the storytelling matters. Yes, the cases and tension matter. But what makes Cross hit is the rhythm between these characters, and the fact that the actors are building something  real inside the frame. Hodge called it “smoothness.” Mustafa called it a puzzle finally coming  together. Either way, it sounds like Season 2 is going to give fans more than just momentum. It is  going to give them meaning.

Cross Season 2 premieres on Prime Video February 11. And if what I heard in that room is any  indication, the story is about to get deeper, the partnership is about to shine even brighter, and the  show is ready to level up in a way that feels earned.