Bosch: Legacy's Ballard Spin-Off Gets An Exciting Tease…

Summary

Ballard spin-off of Bosch: Legacy premieres July 9 with all 10 episodes released at once.
Michael Connelly endorses the Ballard show, promises 'really, really good' show after watching every episode.
Maggie Q was praised by Connelly for her role as Renee Ballard.

Bosch: Legacy's exciting spin-off, Ballard, is set for release on July 9, with all 10 episodes dropping on Prime Video all at once. Maggie Q will play Renee Ballard, a former robbery homicide detective who is tasked with running an underfunded cold case team, alongside her partner, Thomas Laffont, played by John Carroll Lynch. Michael Connelly will be an executive producer on Ballard, and h recently revealed what he thinks about the new spin-off show.

Michael Connelly recently sat down with the Los Angeles Times, and told them that the fans are in for a treat with the Ballard spin-off, with just over six weeks until its release. Of course, the fans' excitement has been mixed with disappointment because of Amazon's cancelation of Bosch: Legacy, but Michael Connelly's endorsement is a positive sign that the Bosch-verse is still very much alive. The legendary author also revealed something surprising he'd done, which adds credence to his claims that Ballard is in good hands.

Bosch: Legacy's Ballard Spin-Off Release Date Has Been Revealed

Bosch: Legacy's Ballard spin-off has an official release date, and fans don't have much longer to wait.

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By Callum Murray

Michael Connelly Has Raved About Bosch: Legacy's Ballard Spin-Off After Viewing All 10 Episodes Of The First Season

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	Michael Connelly
Directed by	Jet Wilkinson

Michael Connelly has just finished writing his 40th book, titled Nightshade, about a new character called Detective Stilwell, who exists in his legendary Bosch-verse. After Bosch: Legacy's abrupt ending, which he insisted was a 'fitting close' to Harry Bosch's solo stories, Connelly is keen to focus his attention on promoting Ballard, and he's been very busy actually watching the show in its entirety. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Connelly said:

It’s really, really good, and I’ve seen all 10 of the episodes.

Fans will also get to watch all 10 episodes of Ballard at their own pace, when every episode drops on Prime Video on July 9. It's good to know that Michael Connelly has given the spin-off series his seal of approval, but the real judges of Ballard's credentials will be the die-hard fans, who aren't scared to voice their true opinions. The pressure is on Ballard to deliver the goods after Bosch: Legacy's cancelation, with Titus Welliver forced to pass the baton to Maggie Q.

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Michael Connelly Has Praised Maggie Q's Performance in The Bosch: Legacy Ballard Spin-Off

Michael Connelly was involved in the casting of Maggie Q as Renee Ballard, just like he was when Titus Welliver landed the role of Harry Bosch back in 2014. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Connelly opened up about Maggie Q's performance in Ballard:

Maggie’s great. She just has this kind of defiant aspect that plays well when she’s dealing with the sexism of the department. She doesn’t step back.

Renee Ballard is based on former LAPD detective, Mitzi Roberts, who has a close working relationship with Connelly. Roberts is an executive producer and writer on Ballard, after originally working as a consultant on Bosch and Bosch: Legacy. Connelly told EW:

It really helps that Maggie has Mitzi Roberts, the now-retired LAPD detective who inspired the Renée Ballard character, on set. Mitzi’s lived this stuff, and it helps when Maggie or the writers have questions or need advice. Maggie and Mitzi have really bonded.

It looks like Connelly and Roberts are back on the Amazon PR machine, after a tough few months in the lead up to Bosch: Legacy's final season. Back in February, it was discovered that Roberts had contradicted Connelly's claims that the end of Bosch: Legacy was a creative decision. Roberts told fans on The Bosch Pit Facebook group:

I can't say much other than we're all very bummed about the decision. That said, hopefully, you'll love the Ballard series too. As you said, it was written to compliment Bosch, never to replace it.

Ballard would have been stronger alongside Bosch: Legacy, but fans will have to settle for seeing how the action unfolds on the other side of Los Angeles in the cold case division, while also continuing to push for the return of Bosch: Legacy in the future.