‘Cross’ Creator Ben Watkins Says It Was a ‘Concerted Effort’ to Make Shannon More Than ‘Just a Victim’

The showrunner credits the women in the writers room for helping ensure the show’s female characters were “real” and “well-rounded”

Eloise Mumford as Shannon Witmer in "Cross" (Prime Video)
Eloise Mumford as Shannon Witmer in "Cross" (Prime Video)

“Cross” creator Ben Watkins said the writers room was unwavering in their mission to ensure the role of Shannon Witmer (Eloisde Mumford) wasn’t merely a “damsel in distress” trope often seen in Hollywood films and TV series, adding that she was written to be more than just Ed Ramsey’s (Ryan Eggold) latest victim.

“We really made a concerted effort to do something that a lot of shows don’t do,” Watkins, who also serves as the showrunner and executive producer of “Cross,” told TheWrap. “They choose a target, it’s a woman, and then that woman is just a victim. And for us, we had to choose somebody and make them a real character, and her name was Shannon.

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