Say Goodbye to Reacher as the King of Prime Video Thanks to Amazon’s Historic New Bosch Strategy

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Prime Video‘s Reacher is a huge hit, based on the popular book series by Lee Child. The show follows Jack Reacher, a former military police officer who travels from place to place. However, Reacher isn’t the only book adaptation on Prime Video that’s influencing Amazon’s plans for the future.

Premiering in 2015, Bosch was among the first original series on Prime Video and played a key role in establishing the platform’s reputation for high-quality TV. The popular detective drama has since expanded with two spin-offs, Bosch: Legacy and Ballard. Now, with the new series Bosch: Start of Watch, Michael Connelly’s creation is pushing the boundaries of television once again.

Bosch Is Paving a New Path for Crime Drama Franchises

Police shows often launch spin-offs, creating large and popular franchises. A prime example is the classic 1990 series Law & Order, created by Dick Wolf. It grew into a major franchise with shows like Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent, and Organized Crime, among others.

Prime Video’s popular show Reacher is expanding! A spin-off series is in development focusing on a character first seen in Season 1 of Reacher and also featured in the sixth Jack Reacher novel, Without Fail. Maria Sten, who played Neagley in the original Reacher series, will be the lead in the new show.

Shows like NCIS and CSI successfully expanded into larger media franchises, but popular series like Criminal Minds weren’t able to do the same with spin-offs. What makes Bosch different is that it, unlike these other police shows, has built a connected universe based on the novels it’s adapted from.

Bosch and Ballard Have Their Own Book Series

As a big fan of the Jack Reacher books, I’ve been really enjoying the shows featuring Reacher and Neagley. They both come from Lee Child’s Reacher universe – Neagley is actually a recurring character in the novels. What’s cool is they each have their own series now, and sometimes they team up, but often they work on separate cases. It’s like a shared world, but we get to follow their individual adventures too!

The Bosch series centers around Harry Bosch (played by Titus Welliver), an LAPD detective known for bending the rules and cutting through bureaucracy to ensure victims receive justice. The show is adapted from the novels by Michael Connelly, beginning with The Black Echo, published in 1992.

The original series, Bosch, ran for seven seasons and 68 episodes, with each season centered around a single case and ongoing character development. Following its conclusion, the story continued with Bosch: Legacy, a spin-off that follows Harry Bosch as he works as a private investigator. The new series also features Harry’s daughter, Maddie, as she begins her career as a police officer with the LAPD.

As a long-time fan of Michael Connelly’s work, I was really invested in Bosch: Legacy, and it didn’t disappoint – three seasons and thirty episodes gave us plenty of compelling mystery. What I especially loved was the introduction of Renée Ballard. She’s such a strong character, and I’m thrilled to hear she’s getting her own spin-off, with Season 2 already confirmed! Of course, those familiar with Connelly’s novels know Ballard’s already a star, with a whole series of books to her name.

Renée Ballard is the central character in Michael Connelly’s novel, The Late Show, which introduces the Ballard series. She later teams up with Harry Bosch in Dark Sacred Night, released in 2018. Currently, the series includes six books, and some feature appearances by Harry Bosch and other familiar faces from Connelly’s books, like Maddie Bosch.

Harry Bosch Will Also Return in a Prequel Series

A second season of Ballard is coming, and a new Bosch spin-off is also on the way. This series will star Cameron Monaghan as a young Harry Bosch, showing his first years with the LAPD before he became a homicide detective. It’s currently being filmed for MGM+.

We still don’t know when Season 2 of Ballard or Bosch: Start of Watch will be released. But Titus Welliver will be back for Ballard Season 2, playing a character who appears occasionally, much like Harry Bosch shows up in some of Michael Connelly’s Ballard books. This means we might see two different versions of Harry Bosch on TV around the same time.

It’s unusual for a TV show to have both a spin-off and a prequel series developed simultaneously without a direct storyline connecting them, but that’s happening with the Bosch universe. Ballard will follow Renée Ballard in modern times while also continuing the story of Harry Bosch. Bosch: Start of Watch, on the other hand, will be a trip back to the 1990s.

As a longtime fan of Michael Connelly’s work, I was thrilled to see The Lincoln Lawyer adapted for Netflix. What’s really exciting for those of us who love both this series and Connelly’s Bosch universe is that they exist in the same world. Now, with the buzz around a potential crossover, everyone’s wondering if we might see Mickey Haller, played brilliantly by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, show up in a future Ballard installment. It’s a fantastic prospect and definitely has me hooked!

The world of Michael Connelly’s books has a lot of potential for expansion beyond the Bosch series. Characters like reporter Jack McEvoy and FBI agent Terry McCaleb each have their own novels, and they’ve also appeared alongside Harry Bosch, creating opportunities for even more spin-off TV shows and a larger interconnected franchise.

As a critic, I’m seeing huge potential here. Amazon isn’t just making two good shows with Ballard and Bosch: Legacy; they’re building something much bigger. They’re clearly aiming to create a major media franchise, and potentially the next big thing in police procedural TV. Having these two series in production simultaneously isn’t accidental – it’s the start of a really interesting, interconnected universe, and a smart, new approach for both Amazon and the crime drama genre as a whole.

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2026-05-27 12:37