Though Prime Video had other successful detective shows before Reacher, this series expertly combines its core idea with the familiar structure of Law & Order. With season 4 of Reacher and a new spinoff, Neagley, on the way, it’s clear that the show has become a major cultural hit. In just four years and three seasons, Alan Ritchson’s series has gained enough popularity and viewers to launch an entire connected universe of stories.
The show Reacher has become incredibly popular, with some even suggesting it could take the place of Prime Video’s hit series The Boys, which ended in May 2026. Despite Reacher‘s success, however, it hasn’t yet reached the level of the long-running Law & Order franchise. With seven different Law & Order shows totaling over 70 seasons, it remains a dominant force on network television.
It’s interesting to note that before the popular series Reacher, Prime Video successfully combined elements of crime dramas like Law & Order with the character-focused style of shows featuring tough, independent heroes. While Reacher is based on Lee Child’s well-known book series—which includes over 30 novels—Prime Video’s earlier show, Bosch, actually comes from an even more extensive literary source.
Bosch Blends Reacher’s Antihero Protagonist With Law & Order’s Procedural Format
Based on Michael Connelly’s popular book series, Bosch first aired in February 2014 and ran for seven seasons with a total of 68 episodes. The show centered around Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch, an LAPD homicide detective who investigated serial killers across Los Angeles. While battling his own inner struggles, this exceptionally skilled detective also worked to expose corruption within the police force.
The popularity of Bosch led to a sequel series, Bosch: Legacy, which continued the story for three more seasons through 2025. To keep audiences engaged with this world, another show called Ballard was created. Similar to how the upcoming Neagley spinoff expands on the Reacher universe, Ballard centers around a female supporting character from Bosch who had been a loyal friend and colleague for many years.
In the first season of Ballard, Maggie Q played Detective Renée Ballard, focusing on solving older, unsolved crimes with help from Titus Welliver as Bosch. The new prequel series, Bosch: Start of Watch, will feature Cameron Monaghan (known from Gotham) as a young Bosch tackling his initial cases. However, Welliver won’t be involved in this series because he’s currently filming another crime drama, The Westies, and the fourth season of The Night Agent.
Bosch Paved The Way For Prime Video’s Reacher Franchise
The Bosch series, like Reacher, centers around a solitary detective, but Titus Welliver’s portrayal shows his character as more communicative and collaborative than Harry Bosch is in the books. The show’s success is also partly due to the impact of the Law & Order franchise.
The Bosch series took inspiration from the team-based crime-solving of Law & Order, and Reacher later borrowed the strong, quiet, and troubled character of Bosch. This creates a sort of cycle: Bosch‘s success showed Prime Video that Reacher could work as a show, and the long-running success of Law & Order and its spin-offs ultimately paved the way for the adaptation of Michael Connelly’s novels into Bosch.
2026-07-23 00:47