Murder, robberies, and misdemeanors are constants on TV, but there’s one crime drama stands above them all, and that’s Bosch. Based on the books by Michael Connelly, the series premiered on Prime Video in 2014 and centers on the brilliant detective Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver). Over Bosch‘s seven equally fascinating seasons, the character works for the LAPD and goes on a dark journey.
Crime dramas often either center around a gripping protagonist with a distinctive quirk, like Morgan Gillory and her impressive IQ on High Potential, or follow a procedural formula that inevitably leads to some boring filler episodes. Thankfully, Bosch never falls into the trap of the latter, and it remains a top-notch show that will hold your attention.
Bosch Is Prime Video’s Best Crime Drama Series
Bosch draws you in right away with its excellent pilot, which blends some sad background on Bosch with the discovery of a child’s body. Each season centers around a compelling main case, and season 7 tells an especially strong story about an intriguing fire at an apartment building.
A crime series is only as engaging as its protagonist, and Harry Bosch is arguably one of the strongest ones. Since he’s so capable, intelligent, and confident, it’s a thrill seeing him solve case after case. Although it’s pretty much always clear that he’ll win, you still love the journey.
But if the focus were only on work, the show wouldn’t be so impactful. The layered character has a lot of childhood pain he hasn’t dealt with. In an interview with UPI, accomplished actor Titus Welliver mentioned his beloved protagonist’s “innate sadness” and added fans can see “the weight that he carries almost to the point of being a burden.“
The actor’s comments sum up why this character is so memorable, but Bosch also sings thanks to its well-written cast of characters, like Bosch’s ex-spouse Eleanor Wish (Sarah Clarke) and fellow detective Jerry Edgar (Jamie Hector). Like many clever characters who excel in their careers, he would clearly rather work alone, but there are a lot of important people populating his universe.
Prime Video Keeps Making More Bosch Shows
Given the success of Bosch, it makes sense that Prime Video would continue to tell stories about this singular detective. Although the Bosch spinoff about Jerry Edgar didn’t happen, which is a shame, there have been two more opportunities to become invested in this fast-paced world.
The spinoff Bosch: Legacy premiered in 2022, and Ballard followed in the summer of 2025. Bosch: Legacy still focuses on Titus Welliver’s protagonist, but keeps the story fresh as he’s now a private investigator instead of an LAPD officer. The spinoff crafts equally exciting storylines for his daughter, Maddy (Madison Lintz), and lawyer Honey Chandler (Mimi Rogers). Season 2 has a particularly excellent, dark, and compelling Maddy plotline.
Ballard might be even more fun than Bosch: Legacy, and it has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Maggie Q plays Renée Ballard, a whip-smart character solving cases for the LAPD, perfectly. While many spinoffs fail to break the mold created by the original series, Ballard feels special.
The series builds on the clever and fascinating detective work that originated on Bosch by having Ballard look into the murder of the sibling of a councilman. It’s fun watching her learn what’s really going on, and a reminder that you can’t get much better than the Bosch franchise when you want to watch brilliant characters solving crimes.
Bosch
- Release Date
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2014 – 2021-00-00
- Showrunner
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Eric Ellis Overmyer
- Directors
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Ernest R. Dickerson, Alex Zakrzewski
