Can It Match Bosch’s Success?

Now that Ballard has been renewed for another season by Prime Video, it seems that another streaming juggernaut based on Michael Connelly’s crime novels is gathering a head of steam. But the detective series fronted by Maggie Q still has a long way to go before it can compare with Bosch and Bosch: Legacy, the shows that spawned it.

Ballard features an entirely different main cast from Bosch, with just a handful of cast members from Bosch: Legacy making guest appearances in the series, including Harry Bosch actor Titus Welliver. In this sense, the new spinoff show turns over a fresh page from the premise of its parent series. Tonally, Ballard is somewhat different, too.

Renée Ballard has a contrasting temperament from the gruff, no-nonsense approach of Harry Bosch. She’s a detective who thrives on patiently putting the pieces of a puzzle together, and identifying with the case she’s working on in emotional terms. Still, she’s got some way to go to win over audiences the way Bosch did season after season.

Ballard’s Renewal Hints At A Bright Future, But Bosch Will Still Be Difficult To Beat

The news that Prime Video has already commissioned Ballard season 2 is a promising sign for the show’s future, particularly after it spent three weeks at the top of the platform’s streaming charts. With millions of viewers, universal acclaim from critics, and now Amazon’s seal of approval, it looks as though the series can do no wrong.

But we should look at the start Ballard has made, impressive as it is, with a sense of proportion. The show remains in the shadow of Bosch and Bosch: Legacy, which achieved the same level of success almost every year for more than a decade between them.

Ballard season 1 may have performed well on all fronts, but replicating this standard of drama across several seasons won’t be so easy. It remains to be seen whether Maggie Q’s character can hold viewers’ attention in the same way Titus Welliver’s Harry Bosch did for 10 seasons.

Bosch Snagged A Perfect RT Score For Every Season Except Its First

By the time Bosch: Legacy ended after season 3, the Bosch franchise had secured a perfect score on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes for nine successive seasons. Only the very first season of the franchise got anything less than 100% of critics onboard with its brand of gritty crime thriller

The consensus around this season at the time was that the show’s premise wasn’t all that original, and its plot featured inconsistencies in tone and pacing. It’s worth remembering that Bosch was the first series to turn any of Michael Connelly’s novels into a TV drama. Only 2011 movie The Lincoln Lawyer preceded it among screen adaptations of Connelly’s books.

Some critics apparently hadn’t yet cottoned onto just how enthralling and irresistibly watchable this version of Connelly’s Harry Bosch stories would turn out to be. Mass acclaim for subsequent seasons soon followed, however, as Titus Welliver perfected his performance as Bosch’s titular hard-boiled detective, and showrunner Eric Overmyer learned how to render Connelly’s novel plots most effectively onscreen.

Ballard Will Need To Continue As Long As Bosch & Be As Impressive To Top It

Right now, Ballard is all the rage among TV reviewers, some of whom are even suggesting that the spinoff series surpasses the remarkably high standards set by its parent series. Yet, these same reviewers will be describing the show in very different terms if it doesn’t build on the success of its first season.

Bosch was the outstanding police detective show on television for seven straight seasons, before continuing its historic run as Prime Video’s flagship crime drama franchise with Bosch: Legacy. Ballard is years away from even coming close to this record. At this stage, as unlikely as it seems, there’s still a chance the show becomes a one-season wonder before falling off.

Nevertheless, the early indications are that Ballard season 2 is shaping up to be another hit, with Jack Meade-Mullarky playing a younger version of Harry Bosch. Leaning into the show’s connection with Bosch is a shrewd move as showrunners Michael Alaimo and Kendall Sherwood look to sustain its mass appeal.

What Bosch’s Spinoff Can Learn From Its Near-Perfect Run

Ballard is currently part of a shared TV universe in which every show is considered a 10/10, and the team behind it won’t want to drop the ball for the whole Bosch franchise. Upcoming seasons of the series should aim to honor the franchise’s past, as well as the Michael Connelly novels they’re drawing from.

What’s more, there’s plenty Ballard can learn from what Bosch has achieved, as it seeks to emulate the success of its parent show. Eric Overmeyer’s adaptation of Connelly’s work often draws from several novels in the same season, or even within a single episode. Yet, the plot of Bosch never overcomplicates things, and always does right by its central character.

The series eschews experimental gimmicks or unnecessary tangents in favor of delivering the best possible version of Harry Bosch’s story, with all the grit and tension it merits, as well as strong acting performances and expert production. If Ballard follows the same principles, Prime Video’s adaptation of Michael Connelly’s Renée Ballard novels could be just as successful.