Happy Cross Season 2 release week!
Everyone’s favourite detective is back with a new case to solve in the new season of Cross. This time, Alex Cross (Aldis Hodge) is on the hunt for a new killer, perfectly portrayed by Jeanine Mason.
This season, Mason delves into her character, Luz, with some frightening results. In Mason’s own words, she wanted audiences “to be scared.”
Ahead of the highly anticipated new season, I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Mason about joining the cast for Season Two, including what excited her about the character and the script when she first read it, the physicality of the role, and much more!
Watch the full interview with Jeanine Mason below:
Mason expressed her honour at taking on the role of Luz in the show and her excitement that showrunner Ben Watkins wanted to focus on Latine heritage and culture.
“Oh, man, I was so. I was just so grateful that Ben Watkins, our showrunner, was excited about my culture and my people. So much so to build an entire storyline around, like our history, the mythology associated with our culture. All of it is honoured so beautifully and touches on again, I can’t spoil stuff, but so many themes and issues that are relevant to my people. And I just was so grateful. I feel like I was like, teed up for just like the most delicious, fun and important role for a Latina in 2025 and 2026 now,” Mason shared.
Mason aimed to portray Luz as terrifying when audiences first meet her, while also showing her vulnerability, hinting at deeper motivations beyond her initial intimidating presence.
“100%. I think I wanted her to be terrifying, like I wanted us to believe that she is this strong, you know, dangerous person who you have fear for certainly. But I also wanted the sadness to be there and all that she’s carrying, and to sort of hint at the beginning of what we might come to find out with her. That it isn’t just this similar sort of villain to maybe even Season One of the show with Ryan Eggold’s Ramsey – just bad, bad. This is sort of – there’s something else underneath the surface. I think the scene is just so primed to, like, establish that for us, this is the why behind what she’s doing. But certainly fear still, too. I need you to be scared,” Mason said with a smile.
Mason uses a lot of physicality in her role as Luz. As a dancer and lifelong athlete, Mason enjoyed the physical work of bringing Luz to life on-screen.
“Oh, man, such a great question. Like several come to mind, which is wild. I mean, I think to get one of those on a gig, where you go home, and you’re so spent, and you’re like, I absolutely was brought down to the studs and reached the extent of what I can do. I am a dancer as well, and I am a lifelong athlete. So for me, the physical is such a fun part of the challenge. And I was spent several episodes over on this show. I’m so excited for people to see it,” Mason shared.
It’s difficult to sum up a series like Cross in just one word, but I challenged Tal and Gill with just that for the upcoming season.
“Yeah, I mean, my process is I try to really justify why with the character and be more on her team than Janine would be while I’m filming. And I remember, for better or for worse, it wasn’t hard for me to get behind her, you know? Especially as I learned more about her story. And it doesn’t excuse, obviously, the awful, awful stuff she’s capable of doing, but it makes it a really compelling season of television when you understand there’s such a strong why,” Mason explained.
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