James Patterson is one of the most successful American book authors of all time, and also one of the most prolific. He’s best known for the Alex Cross series, a crime mystery series about the eponymous detective, as well as his astounding output of over 200 books, many of which he has co-authored with various other writers and celebrities including Dolly Parton and former president Bill Clinton.
Patterson’s strong suit is his engaging and highly entertaining stories and a kind of writing that makes him accessible to all kinds of audiences. Naturally, they make for reasonable television and film, too, with many being adapted into shows and movies over the years.
The 2020 adaptation of the similarly titled novel, The Postcard Killings, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Famke Janssen, and Cush Jumbo, has recently made it to number one on the U.S. Netflix charts. Making the most of Patterson’s knack for suspense and a healthy dose of theatrics, this Danis Tanović-directed crime thriller is best paired with the following James Patterson page-to-screen adaptations.
Kiss the Girls (1997)
To kick off your Alex Cross deep-dive, this 1997 take on Patterson’s most popular detective taps Morgan Freeman for the role and takes from the 1995 novel of the same name about a series of abductions that grab Cross’s attention when his niece becomes the latest victim. Dr. Kate McTiernan, played by Ashley Judd, manages to escape capture, and becomes the detective’s most valuable informant.
Kiss The Girls is directed by Gary Fleder for Paramount Pictures, and you can stream it with a Paramount Plus or MGM Plus subscription.
Along Came A Spider (2001)
Morgan Freeman returns to the neo-noir psychological thriller world of Alex Cross one last time in Along Came a Spider, based on Patterson’s homonymous 1993 book. Directed by Lee Tamahori and released in 2001, the movie finds Cross retired after an operation that resulted in the death of his partner, but the kidnapping of a U.S. Senator’s daughter by a man trying to emulate the disheartening Lindbergh kidnapping of 1932 reels him into the job once again. The film also stars Monica Potter as Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flannigan, who pairs up with Cross to solve this mystery.
Also a Paramount Pictures movie, Along Came a Spider can be watched on the studios’ streaming platform as well as Peacock.
Alex Cross (2012)
A second go at turning the Alex Cross mystery series into a successful crime thriller film series was attempted in 2014, this time with Tyler Perry as the face of the project. Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider scribe Marc Moss returned to help write the screenplay for this Rob Cohen-directed adaptation of Patterson’s 2006 novel Cross. The story sees the famous detective track down a sadistic serial killer named Picasso, perhaps his most challenging opponent yet.
The film’s poor reception led to the cancelation of a planned sequel titled Double Cross, but it should still be a worthwhile 101 minutes for Patterson fans. It’s currently streaming on FuboTV, Paramount Plus, and Showtime.
Instinct (2018-2019)
If you want to be immersed in Patterson’s knotty crime mysteries for a bit longer, we’re happy to inform you that his work has been adapted into the television series format, too. Instinct and the following entry on our list are the best examples of how TV has taken the in-demand author’s stories to new levels.
This CBS show with the delightful Alan Cumming as the protagonist, the multi-hyphenate Dylan Reinhart, lasted for two seasons and made history as the first hour-long American network television drama series with a gay lead character. It borrows its story from a book series by Patterson and Howard Roughan centering Reinhart, an author, psychology professor, and former CIA paramilitary officer who offers his expertise to the NYPD to help them solve particularly puzzling and challenging cases as he partners up with Bojana Novakovic’s Lizzie Needham.
You can watch Instinct‘s seasons 1 and 2 on Paramount Plus.
Zoo (2015-2017)
Swap serial killers for killer animals in this slightly different but every bit as thrilling Patterson adaptation which aired on CBS between 2015 and 2017. Zoo takes from the 2012 science fiction novel of the same name co-authored by Patterson and Michael Ledwidge about the uprising of animals across the globe against humankind.
James Wolk plays zoologist Jackson Oz and is joined by Kristen Connolly as journalist Jamie, Nonso Anozie as safari guide Abraham, and others in a team-up of animal experts investigating the strange coordinated attacks. Although Zoo is not streaming anywhere at the moment, leaving Netflix in 2022, it is available to buy on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play, and others.
