Prime Video's Crime Thriller With Matthew Lillard Is Dividing Audiences & Critics On Rotten Tomatoes

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Matthew Lillard as Lance Durand kneeling in Cross season 2

Published Feb 16, 2026, 3:22 PM EST

Jeff Dodge (he/him), a published author and graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena. Fun Fact: he’s been to every single Idol Live! Tour.

The new season of the Prime Video series Cross, which added Matthew Lillard to the cast, has proven to be very divisive, with critics and audiences diverging in their reactions.

Based on the James Patterson novels, the crime thriller debuted in 2024, with actor Aldis Hodge, best known for Leverage, Straight Outta Compton, Hidden Figures, and Black Adam, playing the titular role of Alex Cross, a detective who investigates horrific murder cases with John Sampson. Cross season 2 premiered on February 11 on Prime Video.

Now that the series is back, the Rotten Tomatoes scores for season 2 show that critics and audiences are in major disagreement. Just days after the premiere was released, the Tomatometer is currently at 93%, with critics lavishing the season with overwhelming praise. They're calling it the best Patterson adaptation yet, with intriguing, entertaining, and relevant storylines.

Aldis Hodge as Alex Cross and Alona Tal as Kayla Craig aiming their guns in Cross season 2

However, the current Popcornmeter (audience score) for Cross season 2 is 60%, a massive 33% drop from how critics have been responding. Some viewers have called it disappointing, claimed the show is doing a poor job of incorporating current events, and criticized the writers for their portrayal of Texas.

For comparison, season 1 earned a 76% critics' score and 64% audience score, which is only a 12% difference. A big shift from season to season is that a lot more critics are praising Cross now, while fewer viewers are enjoying season 2. Combining the two seasons, the average Rotten Tomatoes scores are 84% and 62%, respectively.

Cross' Rotten Tomatoes Scores

Critic Scores

Audience Scores

Season 1	76%	64%
Season 2	93%	60%

Lillard joined the cast of Cross season 2 as a billionaire named Lance Durand, who reaches out to the FBI after he starts receiving death threats following the murders of other billionaires. It turns out the wealthy CEO isn't as innocent as he claims to be.

The actor is best known for starring in such movies as Scream, She's All That, Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, The Descendants, Twin Peaks: The Return, Good Girls, Five Nights at Freddy's, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, and The Life of Chuck.

His role in The Descendants earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and he won a Kids' Choice Award for playing Shaggy in the first live-action Scooby-Doo movie.

Jeanine Mason, Wes Chatham, and Michelle C. Bonilla also joined the cast of Cross season 2. Along with Hodge, returning cast members include Isaiah Mustafa, Juanita Jennings, Alona Tal, Samantha Walkes, Caleb Elijah, and Melody Hurd. Season 2 premiered with the first three episodes on February 11. The remaining episodes will be released weekly until the finale on March 18.

Cross season 2 streams Wednesdays on Prime Video.