BOSCH: LEGACY -- A Great Follow-Up to One of the Best Shows in the Genre

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Photo Credit: Tyler Golden.

​When we last saw Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver), he had enough with the politics of the LAPD and quit the force to go on his own as a private investigator. Honey Chandler (Mimi Rogers) was recovering from her gunshot wounds. Madi Bosch (Madison Lintz) wanted to make a difference as her father did, so she became an LAPD police officer herself. Bosch: Legacy picks up after the pandemic. The showrunners use it as a plot device for the show so that those watching know it happened in real-time.
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The characters of the show pick up subplots from season seven of Bosch. A hitman who killed a handful of people and shot Rogers's character is on trial. A hung jury throws the case out, which means Harry and company must figure another way to convict him. With his trusty tech guy, Maurice "Mo" Massi (Stephen Chang), he must investigate other avenues to bring him to justice. Bosch's daughter isn't having it easy as a boot — a recruit right out of the Academy. A new partner gives her a new lease on life, but she might be getting in over her head as a rape victim haunts her. 

Rogers's character has her hand in a few pies as well. Along with helping Harry with his investigation, she brings a few new cases into the new law firm she works for. She has to deal with a possible police shooting gone wrong and her own demons involving getting shot back in season seven of Bosch. She is still as shrewd as ever, though, making deals left and right to get her way even if snitches get killed because of it. She doesn't like to lose, no matter who she has to bring down to get the win. This might bring her to odds with Harry as well.

Photo Credit: Greg Gayne.

Bosch: Legacy is a more hard-hitting show than Bosch was. Sometimes, it uses vulgar language, which makes the show more authentic in its portrayal of the characters. Some pretty violent shootings and stabbings have the blood flowing throughout the show. Bosch was a great look at the LAPD, but Bosch: Legacy shows a seedier side of Los Angeles. The new show even brings back characters from the old show to ensure audiences know that the two shows are still connected. This show is a bit different in other ways, though.

Harry loses his house with the perfect view of Los Angeles early on in the show, so he has to live out of his office instead. The show has a different vibe than Bosch did. The opening credits are in a different style, though the new show still uses the signature blues and jazz music Bosch has come to be known for. He leans in on his tech guy in the new show quite a bit. He doesn't use all the different departments of the LAPD anymore. That doesn't stop him from getting in the local PD detectives' crosshairs in his investigations. Harry has to watch his step like always because he is in over his head with so many irons in the fire. And so many people out for his head.

Bosch: Legacy is the perfect follow-up to Bosch. It takes what made the original a great police drama and uses it to help create a new vision and harder-edged show without the restraints of Prime Video. The vulgar language and bloody violence make the show a more realistic portrayal of Los Angeles crime and the corruption that goes along with it. Eric Overmeyer and the rest of the showrunners, writers — Michael Connelly, the creator of the character, among them — and the producers create an entirely new vision without having to answer to anybody. They can tell the stories from the books better this way. I loved Bosch, but after one season of Bosch: Legacy, I may be inclined to like this show more.
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Bosch: Legacy streams on Amazon Freevee beginning May 6. All ten episodes reviewed.

Rating: 4.5/5