Bosch (TV series)


Bosch is an American police procedural television series produced by Amazon Studios and Fabrik Entertainment starring Titus Welliver as Los Angeles Police Department detective Harry Bosch. The show was developed for Amazon by Eric Overmyer, and the first season takes its inspiration from the Michael Connelly novels City of Bones, Echo Park, and The Concrete Blonde. It was one of two drama pilots that Amazon streamed online in early 2014, and viewers offered their opinions on it before the studio decided whether to place a series order. The seventh and final season was released on June 25, 2021.
Two spin-off sequel series have been announced. Bosch: Legacy, described by Welliver as "essentially Bosch season 8", premiered on May 6, 2022 on Amazon Freevee, and has been renewed for a second and third season, the former of which premiered on October 20, 2023. The second spinoff follows Detective Renée Ballard, whom Connelly introduced in the 2017 novel The Late Show.

Plot

Season 1

The first season follows LAPD detective Harry Bosch as he investigates two cases. The first is the murder of a 12-year-old boy whose bones were found in the Hollywood Hills. During this period, Bosch is being tried for shooting a suspect in self-defense, and faces a civil lawsuit from the suspect's widow. As Bosch pursues the truth in both cases, he crosses paths with Raynard Waits, a serial killer who claims to be the boy's killer and has a personal interest in Bosch. Bosch must deal with the challenges of his job, his past, and his personal life, while trying to bring justice to the victims.

Season 2

Six months after the events in Season 1, Bosch returns from a suspension. He investigates the murder of a Hollywood producer who appears to have mob connections. His investigation of the producer sends him to Las Vegas, where he also finds out that all is not well with his teenage daughter and ex-wife. Bosch's investigation almost threatens the life of his family, as he is also brought into another case that leads to a ring of dirty cops. New evidence appears on the homicide of his late mother decades earlier. He investigates the circumstances that led to her murder.

Season 3

Sixteen months later. Bosch is haunted with new leads to pursue on his mother's murder case. The season opens with a graffiti-tagging street teen being in the vicinity where a homeless veteran, Billy Meadows, is murdered. Bosch is identified as a suspect in the recent murder of Ed Gunn, and is doggedly pursued by veteran Detective Jimmy Robertson.
Concurrently, Bosch is monitoring an ongoing criminal trial involving a powerful Hollywood movie mogul who is under house arrest. The director employs for his security a former 20+ year police detective, who proves to be a meddlesome and worthy adversary against Bosch and LAPD.
Bosch's personal life takes on new challenges. His teenage daughter, Maddie, is living in LA with him. He also has started a romantic relationship with the deputy DA. A serial murderer known as the Koreatown Killer is introduced to the series.

Season 4

Three months later. Civil rights attorney Howard Elias is representing a black man who is accusing LAPD of police brutality, but Elias is murdered. Elias had a history of representing citizens who sue the LAPD. His homicide unleashes racial strife in LA and elevates tension between the LAPD and citizens.
Police Chief Irving assigns Bosch to head the task force to get to the bottom of the Elias murder and assigns a pair of IA investigators to watch Bosch's team, which includes Edgar, Robertson, and Robertson's detective trainee. Bosch's ex-wife, an FBI agent, is pursuing a gang of Chinese nationals, one of whom is under a US investigation. As a result of her work, she is murdered in a drive-by shooting, just seconds after having lunch with Harry. Bosch gains a vital clue into his mother's murder after the long-retired detective of his mother's case is killed.

Season 5

Fifteen months later. A murder conviction is brought into question from an old case Bosch worked, possibly affecting other past convictions and endangering his career. An embittered former girlfriend accuses Bosch of planting evidence and believes a claim of new DNA evidence purporting to tie another criminal to the crime. Bosch hires former foe Honey Chandler to defend him against charges of planting evidence.
Bosch and his partner Jerry Edgar are investigating the murder of a pharmacist who has, through his son, been involved in dispensing opiates. During their investigation they determine there is a significant opiate-dealing network, possibly controlled by Russian and Armenian gangsters. Bosch goes undercover to learn more about their organization.
Maddie Bosch works as an intern in the LA DA's office. A young attorney mentions a case against her father. Maddie observes bad intent from the CIU investigator, Bosch's former girlfriend, and relays her suspicions to her dad.
Chief Irving is frustrated by Bosch's lack of communication about the murder, the old case with newly discovered evidence, and his undercover work. Lt. Billets covers nicely for Bosch, risking her own position as leader of the Hollywood bureau. Irving is approached by Mayor Vargas's political consultant with the news that he could be a serious contender in the next mayoral election.

Season 6

Eleven months later. After a medical physicist is executed and the deadly radioactive material he had with him goes missing, Detective Harry Bosch finds himself at the center of a complex murder case, a messy federal investigation, and a possibly catastrophic threat to Los Angeles—the city he has pledged to serve and protect.

Season 7

Four months later, New Year's Eve 12/31/19. When a ten-year-old girl dies in an arson fire, Detective Harry Bosch risks everything to bring her killer to justice despite opposition from powerful forces. Detective Jerry Edgar falls apart as he grapples with the consequences of shooting Jacques Avril. Maddie assists Honey Chandler on a high-profile case that draws Bosch in and puts them in the crosshairs of dangerous criminals.

Production

announced on October 31, 2013, that Bosch had been given the green light for production. The hour-long pilot stars Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch, and co-stars Annie Wersching, Amy Aquino, and Jamie Hector. Henrik Bastin of Fabrik Entertainment was the producer, and Jim McKay directed.
According to Connelly, "a fair of changes" were made "to the world of Harry Bosch" "in making the shift from page to screen." In the television series set in 2013, Harry "is 47 years old and a veteran of the first Gulf War in 1991," when he was a member of a Special Forces team clearing tunnels. In the books, Harry was born in 1950, and his tunnel-rat expertise was gained in the Vietnam War. Television Bosch "has now been a police officer for twenty years, with a one-year exception when he re-upped with the Army after 9/11, as many LAPD officers did. He came back to the force after serving in Afghanistan and again encountering tunnel warfare." Book Bosch was also an experienced police detective, but his break from the force came from an Internal Affairs investigation. The show prominently features Bosch's 14-year old daughter named "Maddie".
On November 4, 2013, the 13-day shoot began in Los Angeles, while Connelly kept a daily set journal.
The pilot premiered on Amazon Prime in February 2014, allowing customers to vote to decide whether or not more episodes should be made. In March 2014, Amazon announced that they had commissioned Bosch for a full series.
All ten episodes of the first season of Bosch were released for viewing on Amazon Video on February 13, 2015. Portions of the first episode were changed from the pilot. This included reverting the name of the civil rights attorney character from the pilot back to the book name of Honey Chandler and recasting the role to Mimi Rogers. Also a scene was added in which Bosch testifies in court and is questioned about his background by Chandler.
On March 18, 2015, Bosch was renewed for a second season.
On July 16, the series was nominated for the Outstanding Main Title Design award at the 67th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, along with Manhattan, American Horror Story: Freak Show, Daredevil, Halt and Catch Fire, and Olive Kitteridge; the award was won by Manhattan.
On April 1, 2016, Bosch was renewed for a third season. On October 16, 2016, Bosch was renewed for a fourth season. On February 13, 2018, Bosch was renewed for a fifth season. On November 14, 2018, Bosch was renewed for a sixth season.
On February 13, 2020, the series was renewed for a seventh and final season. The filming for the final season began in September 2020, before wrapping up in January 2021.

Cast

Main cast

  • Titus Welliver as Los Angeles Police Department Detective III Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch, a former Army Special Forces operator and a veteran of the First Gulf War and Afghanistan, who works in the Hollywood homicide division. He is an astute detective with a fundamental respect for rules and policy, though still something of a renegade. Welliver's son Quinn plays adolescent Harry in flashbacks.
  • Jamie Hector as Detective II Jerome "Jerry" Edgar, Bosch's partner
  • Amy Aquino as Lieutenant II Grace Billets, Bosch's immediate superior and friend
  • Lance Reddick as Chief of Police Irvin Irving
  • Annie Wersching as Police Officer I Julia Brasher, a rookie cop assigned to the Hollywood Division. She becomes romantically involved with Bosch but comes into conflict with him when he realizes that she makes up the rules as she goes along
  • Jason Gedrick as Raynard Waits, a serial killer and the suspect in the death of a boy whose bones are found in Laurel Canyon
  • Sarah Clarke as Eleanor Wish, Harry's ex-wife with whom he still has a cordial relationship. She is a former FBI Agent turned professional poker player.
  • Madison Lintz as Madeline "Maddie" Bosch, Harry and Eleanor's daughter
  • Jeri Ryan as Veronica Allen, a manipulative former porn star married to an Armenian porn producer who is murdered
  • Brent Sexton as Carl Nash, a former LAPD homicide detective who oversees a team of corrupt police officers while working as a security guard at a gated community
  • Mimi Rogers as Honey "Money" Chandler, a civil rights attorney
  • Paul Calderón as Detective II Santiago "Jimmy" Robertson, a seasoned detective investigating the murder of a vet who has a history with Harry