Harry Bosch may havestepped out ofBosch: Legacy, but he’s far from retired. In fact, the iconic detective—played byTitus Welliver, 63—is set to play amajorrole in the upcomingBallardseries, according toBoschcreator and bestselling authorMichael Connelly. The new show, led byMaggie Qas LAPD Detective Renée Ballard, will continue the gritty crime saga when it premieres on Prime Video, and Bosch’s involvement will be far more than a nostalgic walk-on.
“It’s not like cameos,” Connelly confirmed in a new interview with TV Insider. “He’s not walking through scenes.He’s a contributor who is in either three or four episodes, and he has an influence on the story.”
Ballardpicks up right whereBosch: Legacyleft off—with Ballard exiled to a newly reformed and severely under-resourced Cold Case unit. In the premiere episode, she’s handed a politically loaded case involving the sister of an L.A. city councilman. But the twist? That murder was originally investigated by Bosch, decades earlier.
“Basically, the unit starts looking into a case that Bosch worked for many years before, so he’s involved and that’s kind of where that comes from,” Connelly explained. The two characters—Bosch and Ballard—will team up to crack the 25-year-old case, which Connelly promises is just the beginning of a larger mystery.
What Is ‘Ballard’ Based On?
Inspired in part by Connelly’s 2022 novelDesert Star, the first season will take Ballard and her ragtag squad through a complicated web of justice, trauma, and political pressure.
“It’s from a book I wrote calledDesert Star,” said Connelly. “That was one through line, but that’s not going to work on a TV show. You need other stuff. So, there are wins in every episode, a weird balancing act where you have to have hooks at the end of every episode.”
The season will follow Ballard as she curates a Cold Case squadcomposed of volunteers—mirroring what really happened at the LAPD when the real-life unit was dissolved and then begrudgingly reinstated.
“There was a political uproar, so they reconstituted the Cold Case Unit with one detective who then had to curate a bunch of volunteers,” Connelly said. “That’s what happened in real life, and that’s what happens in theBallardshow.”
Stay tuned toColliderfor more onBallardas it gears up for its premiere on Prime Video on July 11.
Source:TVInsider
