Summary
The Bosch universe is expanding in a very exciting way, with two upcoming spin-offs, to go alongside the highly anticipated third season ofBosch: LegacyonAmazon Freevee.Maggie Q has recently been cast as Renee Ballard, the cold case detective from Michael Connelly’s successful book series. As well as featuring in her own series, Ballard also features in crossover novels with Harry Bosch, and the two characters are set to lock horns in the Bosch television universe as well.
Filming onBosch: Legacyseason 3 is currently underway, and is partly based on the novel,Desert Star, which does feature Renee Ballard. However, no official announcement has been made on whether Maggie Q would feature inBosch: Legacyin the form of a backdoor pilot to her own series. An untitled spin-off series featuring Bosch’s ex-partner, Jerry Edgar, has also been announced by Amazon as theBosch: Legacyspin-offscontinue to expand the crime saga.
The Waiting (released on June 30, 2025)
Resurrection Walk (2023) (brief appearance)
Renée Ballard is an LAPD detective who was first introduced as the protagonist in Michael Connelly’s novelThe Late Show in 2017. Connelly has gone on record to note that Ballard was inspired by real-life LAPD detective Mitzi Roberts, who is also a consultant on theBosch: Legacyseries. In the book series, Ballard was originally introduced as a possible replacement for Harry Bosch, as his character had retired from the LAPD to become a private investigator. Connelly figured Ballard could continue the universe if he ever decided to retire Bosch’s character.
When the originalBoschseries ended in 2021 after seven seasons,Harry Boschfollowed the path of the books, and became a private investigator in the spin-off series,Bosch: Legacy, and Connelly has continued to write novels based around the character, and has used Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard in each other’s stories.
Ballard’s arc inThe Late Show, saw her demoted from the elite Robbery Homicide Division to a graveyard shift in the Hollywood Division called “The Late Show” after fending off sexual harassment from her boss and being betrayed by her then-partner.
Ballard is a maverick cop just like Harry Bosch, and is determined to close cases, and is willing to bend the rules to achieve the desired outcome. Unlike Bosch, she is more adept at avoiding the political mess that Bosch gets caught up in, by negotiating with and getting favors from friends and allies in the department.
What will the spin-off series be about?
Ballard’s first interaction with Bosch was inDark Sacred Nightin 2018, when she catches him going through a cold case file. They team up to solve the murder of a teenage runaway, and Bosch recognizes her as a kindred spirit in many ways. Ballard and Bosch team up again in 2019’sThe Night Firewhen he asks her to help investigate a cold case with him.
In the 2022 bookDesert Star, Ballard has agreed to stay with the LAPD in a new role. Ballard contacts Bosch and invites him to help with a new cold case division she has set up. This is interesting as it has been confirmed thatBosch: Legacyseason 3 will be partly based onDesert Star, making it highly likely that Renee Ballard will appear in the upcoming series as part of a backdoor pilot into her own show.
Ballard’s job as the head of a cold cases division looks set to be the basis for the upcoming Renee Ballard series.Bosch’s next spin-offcould lead to the possibility for crossovers where Harry Bosch and other characters fromBosch: Legacycould make appearances. Apart from Maggie Q being announced to play Renee Ballard, no other casting announcements have been made for the upcoming spin-off series.
What are Maggie Q’s other roles?
Maggie Q is an American actress who began her acting career in Hong Kong, with starring roles in action movies,Gen-Y CopsandNaked Weaponbefore breaking into Hollywood with supporting roles inMission: Impossible3 in 2006andLive Free or Die Hardin 2007.
She has continued to work consistently in movies, portraying Tori Wu in the dystopian science-fiction action movieDivergent(2014), and its sequels,InsurgentandAllegiant. Maggie Q has also worked regularly on television, with the lead role in the action series,Nikita, between 2010-2013, and in a major supporting role as FBI Special Agent Hannah Wells in the political thriller seriesDesignated Survivoralongside Kiefer Sutherland.
Bosch: Legacy
Cast
Bosch: Legacy picks up where the original Bosch series left off, with the titular detective leaving the LAPD and going into business as a private investigator. Titus Welliver reprises his role as Harry Bosch, along with Mimi Rogers and Madison Lintz. Both shows are based on the novels by author Michael Connelly.
