SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Cross Season 2, Episode 1.
Jeanine Mason is definitely breaking bad in Cross Season 2. Mason joins the Prime Video series as Luz, an enigmatic woman who wastes no time getting her hands bloody—the opening scenes feature her killing and mutilating a man. It’s disturbing to watch, but also impressive for anyone who remembers this is the same actor who was helping to save the world in Roswell, New Mexico.
In an interview to introduce the second season, Mason spoke about what it was like to step into a role so much darker than she’s ever played before. She also talked about what excited her in the world of Cross. And how did she feel following after Ryan Eggold’s diabolical Season 1 performance as Ed Ramsey?
Brittany Frederick: Cross metes out Luz’s backstory very carefully. What do viewers need to know about your character going into the second season? How did you perceive her?
Jeanine Mason: I think what they need to know, it’s all encapsulated in that first scene of hers, when she is with Richard Helvig. I think that she’s someone certainly to fear—someone who really means business—but there’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of sadness. There’s a lot of weight there that leaves us wondering more about her motives.
And I think, as fans of the series, when you sort of are imagining Ramsey as the baddie of Season 1, and you meet [Luz] as the baddie of Season 1, she’s positioned that way. Then immediately you go, this is a different kind of baddie. And what does that mean for Cross, in relation to what he’s doing? How does him playing with the mind of this kind of killer affect his journey as a Black man, who’s a detective, in 2026?
The Ramsey comparison is so apt, because like Ryan Eggold, you’re really playing against type. Was it part of the appeal that Cross was so different from the rest of your resume?
Certainly part of the appeal. I was so excited to get to do this. I couldn’t believe that I actually got away with selling them on it. [Laughs.] And I think part of that is because I was new to [Cross executive producer] Ben Watkins. He is an incredible showrunner, and our paths hadn’t crossed, and he didn’t know that I normally play very sort of big-hearted protagonists.
I went into that chemistry read, and just feel like I blacked out having such a good time, leaning into her. I’m so grateful he bought it, and it’s certainly something I was looking for at the time. I was trying to do things that felt in opposition to what I’d just done. And that was Roswell, New Mexico for four years, where I was this decent human. She certainly has decent morals, this character [in Cross], but I would not say is a good person.
What did you love about Cross as a series? What made it something you wanted to be a part of in the first place?
I love the setup of this show. It’s so fun. I am a big fan of Ryan Eggold and seeing him come in on Season 1, I was jazzed to see what it would feel like to have him play bad. And then I went like, what a cool setup. This is such a solid, beautiful cast, and every year you get this feeling of opening up a new book, as you would with the James Patterson series.
And a scene that stood out to me in Season 1 was certainly that scene where Aldis is returning the little boy to the house, and he gives him that speech about, you’re a superhero. I just thought that encapsulated the show. And the beauty of having someone like Aldis leading this crime show… It was so powerful to me watching it, to have him be delivering that message to this young boy. I thought it was a beautiful scene.
Cross streams Wednesdays on Prime Video. Photo Credit: JC Olivera/Courtesy of Prime Video.
