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Bosch is a streaming series by Amazon Studios, based on the Harry Bosch series of novels written by Michael Connelly. The original pilot episode was released through Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM on February 6, 2014, while a revised version of the episode was released nearly a year later on February 3, 2015.

According to a March 11 Variety article by Andrew Wallenstein, Bosch was greenlighted by Amazon Studios for a full season, along with The After, Mozart in the Jungle, and Transparent. On March 31, the Los Angeles Times reported that Amazon had issued a press release announcing that all four dramas had indeed been picked up for full seasons, along with Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street and Wishenpoof!

The complete first season of the series began streaming on February 13, 2015; the introductory credit sequence features the song "Can't Let Go" by Caught a Ghost. On March 18, 2015, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on March 11, 2016. The series has been continually successful and has been renewed to include six seasons, with the sixth expected in 2020. Season 6 was released on April 16, 2020, following a five-day #BoschStakeout marathon and live tweet during the COVID-19 pandemic. The seventh and final season was released on June 25, 2021.

A spinoff series, Bosch: Legacy, premiered on Amazon Freevee (recently rebranded from IMDb TV) on May 6, 2022, which features the return of Titus Welliver, Madeline Lintz, and Mimi Rogers, as Harry Bosch, Maddie Bosch, and Honey Chandler.

Development[]

Background[]

In 1995, Michael Connelly optioned the film rights to the character of Harry Bosch to Paramount Pictures. The studio failed to develop any projects based on the character, however, and in January 2010, the 15-year option expired, giving Connelly a one-year window to buy back the rights by paying the studio for “all out-of-pocket costs, advances and payments” incurred, plus interest. In March 2010, Connelly sued the studio in order to acquire an accurate accounting of how much Paramount had spent on development, and finally bought back the rights to his own character in October 2010. In December of that year, Connelly told Deadline magazine that "Harry could have a life on TV."

In December 2011, Swedish television producer Henrik Bastin, having binge-read all of Connelly's novels with his pregnant wife during the summer of 2006, finally arranged to meet with Connelly at the Standard Hotel for an hours-long breakfast, presenting the author with a casing from a rifle shell (in reference to Harry Bosch's tendency to collect a shell casing from the 21-gun salute performed at the funerals of police officers that he attends) and claiming that if he was allowed to produce a show about Bosch, "that's the kind of detail we'll have." Bastin also agreed to Connelly's stipulation that every shot of the series would be filmed in Los Angeles.

Pilot []

The full pilot episode released in 2014, on February 6; running 49:34. It was rated TV-MA due to "adult content," "adult language," and "graphic violence."

Season One[]

During summer 2012, Connelly and Bastin met with writer/producer Eric Overmyer, who they quickly persuaded to become showrunner, and on July 9, 2012, Deadline announced that Connelly had "partnered with Fuse Entertainment (The Killing, The Good Guys) and writer-producer Eric Overmyer (HBO’s Treme) in hopes of finally bringing his Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch character to series TV."

On November 24, 2012, OregonLive reported that Overmyer had completed the teleplay for "the first episode of the Harry Bosch television show," and that the script had been sent "out to studios and networks on Friday," November 23, with an eye "toward cable sensibilities."

Connelly also discussed the possibility of producing the series in conjuction with Netflix, and said of the project: "We're talking about a 10 to 12 episode season that tracks one or two books. Our idea for the first season is to track City of Bones and part of Concrete Blonde. Concrete Blonde has a courtroom drama playing out as a B track in it, and we're taking that B track and adding it to City of Bones."

On the topic of casting his titular character, Connelly told the Huffington Post on December 20, 2012: "I've watched House and I could very easily see Hugh Laurie in the role. ...I think there's an opportunity to find someone who's not known to the viewing public and that person can make this role theirs the way Laurie did with House. There are people out there -- people like Kyle Chandler, like Billy Burke -- people that physically look like the guy I've been writing about -- not exactly, but close to it."

Casting began in June 2013, at which time James Gandolfini expressed interest in playing the title character, though he eventually passed on the role. Connelly later suggested Titus Welliver for the role of Harry Bosch, having seen the actor play a military veteran suffering from PTSD in the pilot episode of Touch, and being drawn to "the look in his eyes" which spoke "of an interior life of a damaged man." Welliver was, at that time, in Hong Kong filming Transformers: Age of Extinction, but he ultimately arranged to meet for a casting session on the final day of casting, after which Connelly and Pieter Jan Brugge immediately agreed that Welliver embodied the character of Bosch.

After developing a series bible for the show, Connelly and Bastin received a call from Joe Lewis at Amazon Studios, who requested to meet with them in order to request that they forego pitching the project to any other studios and agree to produce the series with Amazon. Connelly, who recognized that the majority of his books are sold through Amazon, immediately expressed interest in making a deal, though Bastin initially had some reservations until it became clear that Amazon would provide the resources for the series to be made exactly as he, Connelly, and Overmyer wanted.

On October 31, 2013, Amazon Studios announced that it had greenlighted Bosch for production. The hour-long pilot starred Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch, with Annie Wersching, Amy Price-Francis and Jamie Hector co-starring; Henrik Bastin of Fabrik Entertainment produced and Jim McKay directed. The first season follows Bosch "as he pursues the killer of a 13-year-old boy while standing trial in federal court on accusations that he murdered a suspected serial killer in cold blood." On the casting of 52-year-old Welliver, Connelly said: "I can’t really imagine Harry as a young guy."

According to Connelly, "a fair [number] of changes" were made "to the world of Harry Bosch" "in making the shift from page to screen." In the series, Harry "is 47 years old and a veteran of the first Gulf War in 1991, where he was part of a Special Forces team that cleared tunnels. He 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." Connelly also indicated that "the first story/season" would incorporate elements from "a short story called 'Cielo Azul'."

The pilot was filmed from November 4 through November 19, 2013 at multiple locations in and around Los Angeles, and aired on Amazon on February 6, 2014. On March 31, the Los Angeles Times announced that the series had been picked up for a ten episode season, and on May 6, Connelly announced that "a great staff of writers and producers with credits ranging from The Sopranos to The Wire to Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men have signed on and we are in a month’s long brainstorming and writing period, which is the starting point for season one."

Pre-production began in June 2014, while production on new episodes began on August 11. On August 14, Connelly announced that elements of Echo Park would also be incorporated into the first season, having "decided to add the creepy world of killer Raynard Waits into the mix."

Season Two[]

On March 18, 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported that the series had been renewed for a second season, which "will draw primarily from Connelly's novel Trunk Music" while also including "elements of The Last Coyote and The Drop."

Variety reported that the renewal resulted from the fact that the series "broke records with the biggest debut weekend of any original series from Amazon," and "has been the most-watched title on Prime Instant Video out of all TV shows and movies in the four weeks since the season one debut," indicating that the second season will feature Bosch investigating "the murder of a Hollywood producer who laundered money for the mafia" while pursuing "serial killer Chilton Hardy...from the Hollywood Hills down through L.A.’s gritty back streets." IGN reported that series stars Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick, and Sarah Clarke would be returning for the second season.

On March 19, Connelly confirmed in a Washington Post interview that Nate Tyler "is back in Season Two, and he and Harry have straightened it out." On March 25, Deadline reported that Madison Lintz would be a regular in Season 2, and that "her role will have a more prominent presence in the second season." On July 28, Deadline reported that Brent Sexton had "booked a season-long recurring arc" as "Carl Nash, a former police detective who was shoved out of the department by internal affairs and who has a long history with Bosch." Connelly announced on Facebook that filming for the second season began on July 30.

On July 16, the series was nominated for the Outstanding Main Title Design award at the 67th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards; the award was won by Manhattan.

On August 5, Deadline reported that Jeri Ryan had "booked a multi-episode arc" in the second season, portraying "Veronica Allen, a former stripper who married a prolific porn producer and now lives in luxury, turning a blind eye to her husband’s constant philandering." On the same day, Deadline also reported that Erika Alexander had "booked a season-long recurring arc," playing "Connie Irving, a college professor and Deputy Chief Irving’s wife who is concerned about furthering her husband’s career and keeping her police officer son safe," replacing Michelle Hurd, who had played the role in the first-season episode "High Low."

On August 11, scenes were filmed at the Los Angeles Times Building at 1st and Spring Streets in Los Angeles. On August 12, scenes were filmed at the "print shed" of the Los Angeles Police Department's Criminalistics Laboratory. Also on August 12, Nicholas Gonzalez posted a pair of Tweets that seemed to confirm that the actor had been cast to play LAPD detective Ignacio Ferras; two days earlier, Gonzalez had Tweeted that he had finished reading The Overlook, in which the character of Ferras first appeared.

On August 24, Annie Wersching released a photograph on Instagram of herself in a police uniform leaning against a squad car with the caption "Brasher's back baby!!!"

On December 1, Connelly announced on Facebook that filming on the second season had concluded.

Season Three[]

On April 1, Connelly announced on Facebook "that season 3 of Bosch is a go," and that the third season will "adapt The Black Echo and elements of A Darkness More Than Night this time around"; the show thus became "Amazon's longest-running scripted drama." At that time, Bosch was renewed for seasons 3 and 4, although the fourth season renewal was not announced until later.

The third season began filming on July 28, and Connelly posted a 49-second announcement video from the set. Connelly posted an update on August 24th regarding the filming of the third season on Facebook:

It is hard to put into words what I feel as I see these scenes with Harry Bosch and the kid Sharkey being filmed. Right out of my first novel The Black Echo. When I wrote it 25 plus years ago I started with Sharkey. The street kid was the first fictional character on the page, drawn from runaway kids I knew while growing up and working in the kitchens of hotels in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Harry came into the story after — obviously drawn from literary and movie heroes as well as detectives I met as a news reporter. So to see this story come alive now with these two fine actors — Titus Welliver of course as Harry, Bridger Zadina as Sharkey — is amazing to me. After three seasons you’d think this would get old but I am mesmerized by these two and their interactions. More so than past days on the set, I get a nostalgic feel to it. I remember writing that first book and trying to find time to get to it between the hours of my real job as a reporter. I am certainly happy that we decided not to present the show in the same order of the books. Waiting to do The Black Echo in season 3 gave this crew on both sides of the camera better understanding of what we have and what we want to accomplish. I think this season will be the one I’ve waited 25 years for.

Season Four[]

On October 17, 2016, Connelly announced on Facebook that "there will be a fourth season of Bosch! Amazon Studios has said let's do it again and we are happy to oblige." Deadline also reported the renewal.

Promotion[]

On January 28, 2014, two clips of the pilot were released on YouTube: "The Bone Run," which runs 49 seconds in length, and "The Smoke Break," which runs 1:32 in length. On February 1, a clip entitled "Bosch and the Chief," running 36 seconds in length, was released. On February 3, a behind-the-scenes video, entitled "The Bone Lab," was released on YouTube, running 2:56 in length. On February 5, a second behind-the-scenes video, entitled "Hollywood Station," was released, running 3:03 in length.

On February 9, another behind-the-scenes video, entitled "Titus Welliver and Scott Wilson," was released, running 2:12 in length, with another video, entitled "The Alley," being released on the February 12 running 3:18 in length. On February 16, an interview titled "Michael and Titus" was released in four parts: "Preparation" (running 2:42), "It's Personal" (running 3:16), "Collaboration" (running 2:48), and "Passion" (running 2:02).

An Facebook page was created for the series on October 23. A teaser trailer was later released on YouTube on November 10. The release date of the complete first season – February 13, 2015 – was announced on January 14, 2015, along with the fully reshot pilot episode (running 47:18), and a new trailer for the full first season.

On January 28, 2015, Connelly and Welliver were interviewed by Tavis Smiley on the late-night PBS talk-show Tavis Smiley. On February 12, the day before the series made its debut, Connelly released a video concerning the first season entitled "Bosch: From Page to Screen" and running 3:11 in length.

On July 30, 2015, "the first shot of Bosch season 2" was posted to Connelly's Facebook page, and consisted of a 15-second clip of Titus Welliver jogging. On August 13, a 30-second video was posted to the Facebook page featuring musician "Grace Kelly playing her own composition, 'Blues for Harry Bosch'" during "a set at the Catalina Club in Hollywood" that was filmed for the second episode of the second season.

On January 11, 2016, an official teaser trailer for Season Two, running 1:21, was released on YouTube.

On March 4, 2016, eight interviews, conducted by Adam George at the Pacific Design Center, were uploaded to YouTube following a screening of the second season premier episode. Interviewees included Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector, Lance Reddick, Sarah Clarke, Madison Lintz, Emilia Zoryan, Michael Connelly, and Henrik Bastin.

Cast[]

Main[]

Major Recurring[]

For a complete cast listing, see Bosch/Cast.

Episodes[]

Pilot[]

Episode Writer Director Airdate
"The Bone Run" Michael Connelly & Eric Overmyer Jim McKay 02/06/14

Season 1[]

Main article: Season 1
Episode Writer Director Airdate IMDb
rating
"`Tis the Season" Michael Connelly & Eric Overmyer Jim McKay 02/13/15 8.7/10
"Lost Light" Kevin Dowling 8.5/10
"Blue Religion" Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider 8.7/10
"Fugazi" George Pelecanos & Michael Connelly Ernest Dickerson 8.9/10
"Mama's Boy" William N. Fordes 8.6/10
"Donkey's Years" Jennifer Ames & Steve Turner Roxann Dawson 8.5/10
"Lost Boys" Joe Gonzalez & Eric Overmyer Alex Zakrzewski 8.7/10
"High Low" William N. Fordes & Tom Smuts Matt Earl Beesley 8.7/10
"The Magic Castle" Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider Alex Zakrzewski 9.0/10
"Us and Them" Michael Connelly & Terrill Lee Lankford Thomas Carter 8.6/10
Source material: City of Bones, The Concrete Blonde, Echo Park

Season 2[]

Main article: Season 2
Episode Writer Director Airdate IMDb
rating
"Trunk Music" Eric Overmyer Alex Zakrzewski 03/11/16
"The Thing About Secrets" Eric Overmyer & Tom Berardo
"Victim of the Night" Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider Pieter Jan Brugge
"Who's Lucky Now?" Tom Smuts Christine Moore
"Gone" William N. Fordes Ernest Dickerson
"Heart Attack" Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider Adam Davidson
"Exit Time" Tom Smuts & Tom Bernardo Kevin Dowling
"Follow the Money" William N. Fordes & Joe Gonzalez Alex Zakrzewski
"Queen of Martyrs" Eric Overmyer & Tom Bernardo Phil Abraham
"Everybody Counts" Michael Connelly & Terrill Lee Lankford Tim Hunter
Source material: Trunk Music, The Drop, The Last Coyote

Season 3[]

Main article: Season 3
Episode Writer Director Airdate IMDb
rating
"The Smog Cutter" Eric Overmyer Adam Davidson 04/21/17
"The Four Last Things" Daniel Pyne Adan Davidson
"God Sees" Tom Bernardo Alex Zakrzewski
"El Compadre" Jeffrey Fiskin Sarah Pia Anderson
"Blood Under the Bridge" Elle Johnson Alex Zakrzewski
"Birdland" Daniel Pyne Ernest Dickerson
"Right Play" Jeffrey Fiskin Christine Moore
"Aye Papi" Elle Johnson Ernest Dickerson
"Clear Shot" Eric Overmyer Stephen Gyllenhaal
"The Sea King" Daniel Pyne & Michael Connelly Ernest Dickerson
Source material: The Black Echo, A Darkness More Than Night

Season 4[]

Main article: Season 4
Episode Writer Director Airdate IMDb
rating
"Ask the Dust" John Mankiewicz & Daniel Pyne Aaron Lipstadt 04/13/18
"Dreams of Bunker Hill" John Mankiewicz & Daniel Pyne Aaron Lipstadt
"Devil in the House" Tom Bernardo Alex Zakrzewski
"Past Lives" Shaz Bennett & Elle Johnson Tim Hunter
"The Coping" Jeffrey Fiskin Alex Zakrzewski
"The Wine of Youth" John Mankiewicz Zetna Fuentes
"Missed Connections" Jeffrey Fiskin Daisy von Scherler Mayer
"Dark Sky" Elle Johnson Ernest Dickerson
"Rojo Profundo" Michael Connelly Neema Barnette
"Book of the Unclaimed Dead" Daniel Pyne Ernest Dickerson
Source material: Angels Flight, Nine Dragons

Season 5[]

Main article: Season 5
Episode Writer Director Airdate IMDb
rating
"Two Kinds of Truth" Daniel Pyne Alex Zakrzewski 04/19/19
"Pill Shills" Eric Overmyer Alex Zakrzewski
"The Last Scrip" Elle Johnson Daisy von Scherler Mayer
"Raise the Dead" Tom Bernardo Laura Belsey
"Tunnel Vision" Jeffrey Fiskin Patrick Cady
"The Space Between the Stars" Shaz Bennett Neema Barnette
"The Wisdom of the Desert" Jeffrey Fiskin Aaron Lipstadt
"Salvation Mountain" Tom Bernardo Ernest Dickerson
"Hold Back the Night" Eric Overmyer Aaron Lipstadt
"Creep Signed His Kill" Daniel Pyne & Katie Pyne Ernest Dickerson
Source material: Two Kinds of Truth

Season 6[]

Main article: Season 6
Episode Writer Director Airdate IMDb
rating
"The Overlook" Eric Overmyer & Tom Bernardo Daisy von Scherler Mayer 04/17/20
"Good People on Both Sides" Daniel Pyne Alex Zakrzewski
"Three Widows" Shaz Bennett Patrick Cady
"Part of the Deal" Tom Bernardo Michael McDonough
"Money, Honey" Jeffrey Fiskin & Katie Pyne Trey Batchelor
"The Ace Hotel" Alex Meenehan Zetna Fuentes
"Hard Feelings" Jeffrey Fiskin Hagar Ben-Asher
"Copy Cat" Eric Overmyer & Alex Meenehan Ernest Dickerson
"Dark Sacred Night" Daniel Pyne & Osokwe Vasquez Tara Nicole Weyr
"Some Measure of Justice" Michael Connelly Ernest Dickerson
Source material: Dark Sacred Night & The Overlook

Season 7[]

Main article: Season 7
Episode Writer Director Airdate IMDb
rating
TBC TBC TBC 2021
TBC TBC TBC
TBC TBC TBC
TBC TBC TBC
TBC TBC TBC
TBC TBC TBC
TBC TBC TBC
TBC TBC TBC
TBC TBC TBC
TBC Michael Connelly & Eric Overmyer TBC
Source material: The Concrete Blonde and The Burning Room

Behind-the-Scenes Podcast[]

In March of 2015, a series of six free behind-the-scenes podcasts were made available through Audible.com.

Season 1[]

Episode Writer/Narrator Interviewees Released Runtime
"The Origins" Tom Bernardo Henrik Bastin & Michael Connelly 03/10/15 1:03:40
"The Writers" Tom Smuts, William N. Fordes, Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider 0:56:12
"The Authenticity" (Part 1) Pieter Jan Brugge, Dorian Harris, Tim Marcia, Mitzi Roberts 03/17/15 0:58:20
"The Inspiration" (Part 2) 0:40:34
"The Troubled Hero" Titus Welliver 03/24/15 0:48:54
"The Suspect" Jason Gedrick (Michael Connelly) 1:00:41

Reviews[]

The first season has received 61,716 five-star reviews out of 84,542 reviews with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 at Amazon.com. The first season has also received a 72% "fresh" rating out of 18 reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, while earning an 85% Audience Score out of 147 user ratings with an average rating of 4.1-out-of-5. Additionally, it received a 71 metascore out of 17 critic reviews and a 7.8 user score out of 59 user reviews on metacritic.

The second season has received 22,219 five-star reviews out of 26,140 reviews with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 at Amazon.com. The second season has also received a 100% "fresh" rating out of nine reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, while earning an 96% Audience Score out of 40 user ratings with an average rating of 4.4-out-of-5. Additionally, it received a 76 metascore out of seven critic reviews and a 8.2 user score out of 17 user reviews on metacritic.

References[]

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