If you’re a fan of Bosch and you’re already missing the show, don’t worry, there’s something you can get into. It’s a spin-off show of the Bosch series on Amazon called Ballard. Starring Maggie Q, It follows the career of Detective Renee Ballard, who we last saw in the final season of Bosch Legacy. If you remember, she caught a case that Harry Bosch had previously investigated when he was with the LAPD, and butted heads. Her story is quite interesting. She’s a decorated detective who has been relegated to Cold Cases in the basement of the LAPD. I will not spoil her backstory and what happened to her. Let’s just say that her character ran up against a boys club in the LAPD that protects their own, and because she pissed her bosses off, she’s stuck investigating dead-end cases with only volunteers to fill out her team. But this is where the fun begins. These aren’t just any ordinary cold cases; they may just be connected!!! That’s all I’m going to say, no spoilers!
What makes this show really good is not only the performances of Maggie Q and her former partner, played by John Carroll Lynch, but it is a procedural LA cop show just like Bosch, and you’ll have Harry Bosch pop in and out helping her. In the first season of 10 episodes, there’s a lot more going on than just solving cold cases, but like I said if you’re missing Bosch and Bosch Legacy then this show is for you. Yes, it can be considered a consolation prize because Bosch is not going to be a regular, but it’s nice to have him back helping Ballard. Plus, you will see characters from the Bosch universe throughout the first season. This is a great universe to have a spin-off show because there’s so many great detectives that Harry Bosch has encountered throughout his career as a detective and a private investigator, but I admit that Renee Ballard is the most intriguing because of her past that relegated her to the basement and cold cases, but also that she is a formable detective that can break big cases such as a conspiracy within the LAPD. So for me, the best part of season 1 is how you can have a cold case that they’re investigating feel like an episode of the week, but again, you start to see that everything is connected for a larger story. I didn’t necessarily feel like I needed to binge-watch everything in the same day to get to the overall story; there are a lot of great episodes that have a beginning and an end within the Hour time frame of each episode. But this is a show you’re definitely going to want to watch if you’re a fan of the Bosch universe.
I don’t have any complaints as a critic because I love season 1. The first season is intriguing, it keeps you on your toes, and you have more than one great story to fill out season 1 that keeps you engaged until the end. There’s two really great stories happening simultaneously, but not only deals with the backstory of the main character and one of her team members, but it is also a story that will certainly have a lot of ramifications going into future seasons. Plus, it doesn’t end on a bit of a cliffhanger, so we’ve got to get a season 2. All of the characters are great, the performances are great, and the fact that we get to see Harry Bosch in more than one episode certainly makes it worth watching. Maggie Q plays a detective that you can certainly root for, and even if you didn’t necessarily like her at the beginning and the last season of Bosch Legacy, you’ll quickly become a fan, and that’s mainly because of the performance by Maggie Q. Yes, this is a show worth watching. This is one of the best shows on Amazon Prime. It’s easy to make a lot of comparisons to Bosch, but that’s okay because it is technically a spin-off show, and we just might get to see Harry Bosch come back again and again. I would love to see him join her team and these two characters work together. But if nothing else, the future is bright for Ballard. It’s a great detective show, and the 10 episodes fly by easily. That’s not boring, and the pacing is great. Plus, you get to visit other parts of LA. Also, her grandmother is a hoot! Definitely check out season 1 of Ballard. It is a great consolation prize for the fact that we don’t have Bosch anymore. I can easily see this show running for 5 to 10 seasons. There are a lot of great stories they can tell.
