''Ballard'' is an American

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

television series created by Michael Alaimo and Kendall Sherwood. A spinoff of '' Bosch'' (2014–2021) and '' Bosch: Legacy'' (2022–2025), the show premiered on July 9, 2025, on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

. It stars

Maggie Q Margaret Denise Quigley (born May 22, 1979), professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American actress. She began her professional career in Hong Kong, with starring roles in the action films '' Gen-Y Cops'' (2000) and '' Naked Weapon'' (2002), ...

LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

Detective Renée Ballard, a character based on

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of Detective fiction, detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and cr ...

's ''Renée Ballard'' novel series, published since 2017 and taking place in the same literary universe as

Harry Bosch Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is a fictional character created by American author Michael Connelly. Bosch debuted as the lead character in the 1992 novel '' The Black Echo'', the first in a best-selling police procedural series now numberi ...

Premise

Set in Los Angeles, ''Ballard'' follows Detective Renée Ballard as she takes command of the LAPD's newly formed cold case unit of the Robbery-Homicide Division (RHD). Staffed primarily by volunteers and under-resourced, the unit is tasked with solving decades-old homicides. As Ballard reopens long-dormant investigations, she uncovers a web of corruption and cover-ups that reach deep into the police department itself. The series blends episodic cold-case mysteries with a season-long serialized arc involving a mysterious conspiracy.

Cast and characters

Main

as Detective Renée Ballard, determined, empathetic LAPD officer leading the cold-case unit. * Courtney Taylor as Zamira Parker, a former LAPD officer who is recruited by Ballard to join the Cold Case Unit, driven by her determination to uncover the truth after feeling overlooked in her previous role. *

Michael Mosley Michael Hugh Mosley (22 March 1957 – 5 June 2024) was a British television and radio journalist, producer, presenter and writer who worked for the BBC from 1985 until his death. He presented television programmes on biology and medicine and ...

as Ted Rawls, a reserve officer assigned to oversee Renée Ballard's work on cold cases. *

Rebecca Field Rebecca Field is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lacey Jean-Locklin in the Lifetime drama series ''The Client List''. She is also known for the role of Gail in the 2018 film '' A Star Is Born''. Life and career Field was ...

as Colleen Hatteras, an enthusiastic volunteer * Victoria Moroles as Martina Castro, a legal intern *

Amy Hill Amy Marie Hill (born May 9, 1953) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Hill's first major role was as Yung-Hee "Grandma" Kim on '' All-American Girl''. Hill has been a mainstay on American television in her work, many of her roles bein ...

as Tutu, Ballard's grandmother *

John Carroll Lynch John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in '' Fargo'' (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom ''The Drew Carey Sh ...

as Thomas Laffont, a retired former police partner who returns to assist Ballard in running the cold-case unit. A seasoned detective and skilled interrogator, Laffont serves as a steady, supportive presence in Ballard's life.

Recurring

Noah Bean Noah Whipple Bean (born August 20, 1978) is an American actor best known for his roles as Ryan Fletcher on The CW action-thriller series '' Nikita'', as David Connor on the FX legal drama ''Damages'' and his leading performance in the independen ...

as Councilman Jake Pearlman, a shrewd yet well-meaning politician who takes bold steps to support the Cold Case Unit in hopes of solving his sister's murder. * Michael Cassidy as Aaron, a lifeguard and serves as Renée Ballard's on-again, off-again romantic interest. *

Ricardo Chavira Ricardo Antonio Chavira (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Carlos Solis in the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012). He also played Abraham Quintanilla in '' Selena: The Series' ...

as RHD Detective Robert Olivas, a respected, charming, and charismatic detective with a complicated history with Renée Ballard. * Alain Uy as Nelson Hastings, a shrewd and ambitious political figure. A longtime friend of Jake Pearlman that is willing to go to any lengths to support him. * Hector Hugo as Captain Berchem, a Robbery-Homicide (RHD) captain and a "cop's cop" who took a chance on Ballard. He is deeply committed to justice and cares fiercely about the integrity of his team.

Special guest star

Titus Welliver Titus B. Welliver (born March 12, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of the Man in Black in '' Lost'', Silas Adams in '' Deadwood'', Jimmy O'Phelan in '' Sons of Anarchy'', and the title role in the television ser ...

as Harry Bosch – A retired LAPD detective and private investigator, reprising his role from '' Bosch'' and '' Bosch: Legacy''.

Episodes

Production

Development

''Ballard'' was officially announced in 2023 as the next expansion of the Bosch television universe.

serves as co-creator and executive producer alongside Michael Alaimo and Kendall Sherwood. The show draws inspiration from Connelly's novels, including ''

The Late Show The Late Show may refer to: Film * ''The Late Show'' (film), a 1977 film * ''Late Show'', a 1999 German film by director Helmut Dietl Music * ''The Late Show'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis album), a 1961 live album by jazz saxophonists Eddie "Loc ...

'' (2017), ''

The Dark Hours ''The Dark Hours'' is a 2005 Canadian horror film directed by Paul Fox and written by Wil Zmak. Synopsis A woman's mistakes come back to haunt her in a terrifying and very literal manner in this mind-bending thriller. Dr. Samantha Goodman (Kate Gr ...

'' (2021), and '' Desert Star'' (2022). ''Ballard'' is executive produced by Michael Connelly, Henrik Bastin, Michael Alaimo, Kendall Sherwood, Trish Hofmann, Jet Wilkinson, and Melissa Aouate. Jasmine Russ serves as co-executive producer under Fabel Entertainment, while Jamie Boscardin Martin and Trey Batchelor also contribute as co-executive producers. Additionally, Theresa Snider serves as co-executive producer for Hieronymus Pictures. Sherwood and Alaimo serve as showrunners.

Filming

Principal photography for the first season began in July 2024 and concluded in November 2024. Filming took place on location in Los Angeles to maintain continuity with the visual style of the ''Bosch'' franchise.

Release

All 10 episodes of the series were released on

on July 9, 2025.

Reception

The review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported a 100% approval rating based on 10 critic reviews.

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

References

External links

*
Official Michael Connelly Website
{{Amazon Video original series 2020s American crime drama television series 2020s American police procedural television series 2025 American television series debuts American detective television series Amazon Prime Video original programming American English-language television shows Television series about the Los Angeles Police Department Television series by Amazon MGM Studios Television shows based on American novels Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Los Angeles