Summary
Bosch: Legacywill hit screens in March 2025, and it’ll likely be the last time fans see some of their favorite characters, butMichael Connelly has promised there will be some surprise guest stars in theBallardspin-off.The author of the books and executive producer hasn’t revealed which characters could appear, but fans already know Harry Bosch will guest star in three episodes ofBallardseason 1.
There are so many characters who could appear inBallard, with the events still taking place in Los Angeles, albeit on a different side of the city. However,fans are concerned there won’t be enough time to explore their favorite characters with likely fleeting guest appearances, and this is why the petition to SaveBosch: Legacyis so important.It would make more sense forBosch: LegacyandBallardto both run alongside each other, but as it stands, Michael Connelly’s universe is being diluted from three potential shows to only one, with theJerry Edgar spin-offalso on Amazon’s scrapheap.
What Has Michael Connelly Said About Potential Surprise Guest Stars in Ballard?
Michael Connellyhas tried to put a positive spin onBosch: Legacy’s abrupt ending, but it must be frustrating to see his beloved Harry Bosch being relegated to a side character in his own universe. Bosch and Ballard are joint co-leads in Connelly’s recent books, but Titus Welliver will no longer play Bosch in the lead role afterBosch: Legacy’s cancelation. However, Connelly has promised in aninterview with The Irish Star, thatin addition to Harry Bosch’s guest appearances, other fan favorites will also feature inBallard.
We didn’t get the word Bosch: Legacy was not going to go on until we were well into producing Ballard but that kind of frees up some of our Bosch characters. So I think going forward there’ll be some surprise appearances.
The end ofBosch: Legacydoesn’t really ‘free up’ the characters from that show as such. It just relegates them to bit part appearances inBallard.Fans appreciate the sentiment, but it would be much better if characters likeMaddie BoschandHoney Chandlercontinued with their own solo stories inBosch: Legacywhile also making guest appearances inBallard.A compelling crime saga was being built up, only to be dismantled by Amazon in the matter of weeks back in September of this year.
Ballard Season 1
Starring
Maggie Q, Courtney Taylor, John Carroll Lynch, Michael Mosley, Rebecca Field, Victoria Moroles, Amy Hill, Ricardo Chavira, Noah Bean, Alain Uy, Hector Hugo and Titus Welliver
Based on the books by
Directed by
Jet Wilkinson
Fans are excited aboutBallard, with the introduction of the fiery cold case investigator played by Maggie Q. Unfortunately, that hype was tamed by the cancelation ofBosch: Legacy.It now feels like a consolation prize rather than an exciting expansion of Michael Connelly’s Bosch-verse.The promise of fan favorites popping up inBallardalso feels like a poor alternative to seeing important characters fleshed out properly in future seasons ofBosch: Legacy. When it was initially announced thatBosch: Legacywould crossover withBallard, fans were salivating at the prospect of seeing the ex LAPD detective in not one, but two shows moving forward. The harsh reality is that he’s now a recurring character in only one show.
If Harry Bosch is only in three episodes ofBallard, other characters, likeCrate and Barrel, won’t have any significant role to play in the upcoming spin-off,if they even appear at all. Maddie Bosch actually joins Ballard’s cold case team in Connelly’s new book,The Waiting, so she could appear much later on in theBallardtelevision series. However,what ifBallardflops, and it gets canceled after one season? Renee Ballard will be surrounded by a brand-new cast of exciting characters who deserve their own storylines, but what about the characters fans have bonded with over the last decade?Ballardcould suffer from what could appear to be fan service, by shoehorning in popular characters, to appease fans still mourning the end ofBosch: Legacy.This will do a disservice to both the new and legacy characters, and could result in a very overcrowded show, which has the added pressure of carrying the Bosch-verse, while trying to establish itself as its own entity.
