When it comes to how many times we can watch the unconventional but brilliant detective crack a cold case in a TV drama, the limit does not exist.
So this week there’s another entry to the small screen, with the spin-off to Bosch dropping on Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday (July 9).
With a plot that will instantly appeal to fans of Dept Q on Netflix, Ballard stars Maggie Q as Renée Ballard, who has been shunted to the basement with other LAPD misfits.
Also drawing comparisons to Apple TV Plus hit Slow Horses, the group have been sidelined after a brave but ultimately doomed attempt to bring down a well-connected crime organisation.
With a prickly demeanour and exacting approach to work, Ballard isn’t going to win any popularity competitions, but she’s soon opening decades-old murder files and making breakthroughs. As you do.
With all 10 episodes now out just in time for a weekend binge, Ballard’s main adversary this season could turn out to be the department itself, as she uncovers a wide-reaching conspiracy.
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The case involves a serial killer’s string of murders, which the official show synopsis says plunges Ballard into a hunt to ‘uncover a sinister police conspiracy that threatens everything she stands for’.
‘There’s a storyline that arcs the entire season you’re going to be following, that has its tentacles to go off on tangents,’ Q explained to Amazon ahead of the show’s release.
‘There will be a couple of episodes that are more standalone, and you’ll get a different case for a good reason, very organically, but other than that I think it will be that one overarching story people will tune in for. That’s the gold at the end of the rainbow.’
Based on the wider world of Michael Connelly’s books – which also inspired Bosch and Bosch: Legacy – we also know that retired detective Titus Welliver’s Harry Bosch makes an appearance in the show.
What other thrillers are available to stream?
- Sight Unseen. With ten episodes set to drop between now and August, the show follows Vancouver homicide detective Tess Avery (Dolly Lewis) who is forced to quit her job when an accident nearly kills her partner and leaves her clinically blind.
- Scrublands. A journalist investigates what he initially thinks is a straightforward story about a small town a year on a priest shooting dead five parishioners.
- A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder. In the summer holidays before entering her last year of school, Pip decides to use her A-Level extended project to investigate an unsolved case.
- Countdown. Following the murder of a Department of Homeland Security agent, Nathan Blythe (Euphoria star Eric Dane) puts together a task force of agents from various agencies who are each known for their unconventional methods.
In reviews of the show, Ballard’s immersive storytelling has been praised, with Collider sharing: ‘You get the suspense, the emotional drama, the suspects you wish were guilty, the suspects you wish weren’t, and the healthy dose of a well-timed witty remark to get you cackling.’
A Roger Ebert review praises the show’s moment, writing: ‘As with most procedurals, there are hard left turns, mounting personal stakes, and growing anticipation for how it all fits together, and when the denouement will ultimately explode. And explode it does.’
Meanwhile, The AV Club noted that while most of the supporting characters weren’t particularly fleshed out, they concluded: ‘Ballard, while indeed formulaic for the most part, is at least an intriguing Connelly adaptation that boasts Maggie Q killing it once again.’
Ballard is available to stream on Prime Video from July 9.
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