Aside from promising to be a more binge-worthy affair, Ballard is overhauling the popular police procedural franchise by moving the action from East Los Angeles to West L.A., where Ballard and her new cold case unit investigate crimes in areas of the city previously unseen. With Titus Welliver appearing in at least one episode of the new franchise entry, now is the time to clear the calendar and prepare forBallard’s impending release.
When Does Ballard Come Out?
As Harry passes the torch to Renée,Ballard’s release schedule mirrors that ofBosch(for the most part). Although the first season ofBoschdebuted the pilot one week earlier than the rest of the episodes, the remainder were dropped all at once. This became the template for the show’s binge-watching quality, with every subsequent season releasing the whole season simultaneously.
For the spinoffBosch: Legacy, Prime Video adopted a different release strategy. The tactic included releasing the first two or three episodes at once, followed by weekly episodic rollouts. For example, Season 3 released the first four episodes at once, then released two episodes per week until the finale aired. By contrast,Ballardis going back to the original release slate that madeBoschsuch a popular TV series.
As such, Prime Video will release all 10 episodes ofBallardon Jul 22, 2025.
Release Date
Library of Lost Souls
June 13, 2025
What’s Done in the Dark
Beneath the Surface
Fork in the Road
Collateral
End of the Line
Given how far off the railsBosch: Legacygot at times, this is a wise move by Prime Video. By reverting to the original release schedule that helped popularize Bosch as a highly consumable show that fans wanted more of and couldn’t get enough of,Ballardis sure to strike a similar appeal. Besides, streaming shows aren’t as amenable to weekly episodic releases as premium cable series likeThe White Lotus.Bosch: Legacyexperimented with this type of scheduling but never resonated the wayBoschdid.
What To Expect From ‘Ballard’
Created by Michael Connelly and Michael Alaimo,Ballardcontinues theBoschfranchise on Amazon Prime Video. Based primarily on Connelly’s 2022 novel,Desert Star, the story is also inspired byThe Late Show(Ballard’s first solo novel) andThe Dark Hours.Maggie Q stars as Renée Ballard, a Hawaiian-born police detective eager to leave a toxic work environment behind. She does just that when offered the chance to lead a woefully underfunded and understaffed cold case unit in the Robbery-Homicide Division of the LAPD.
‘Bosch’ Spinoff Star Explains How Show Will Not Be Relying on Nostalgia
‘Bosch: Legacy’ spinoff ‘Ballard’ is setting out to be its own show and not rely on the success of its predecessor.
As Ballard organizes a motley crew of amateurs and volunteers, she realizes there’s much more to the job than solving cold cases. As she cuts through the red tape and builds her unit from the ground up, Ballard exposes a criminal web that implicates key LAPD operatives.Boschfans will take delight in knowing that the grizzled detective will appear in the pilot episode (at the very least), to give Ballard advice on how to lead her new unit.
Who Stars in ‘Ballard’?
Ballard’s new cold case unit in Los Angeles includes an eclectic cast of characters. Assisting Ballard in a leadership role is Thomas Laffont (John Carroll-Lynch), a veteran detective who comes out of retirement to help Ballard assemble the cold case unit. Aside from Laffont, Ballard takes orders from Captain Berchem (Hector Hugo), leader of the Robbery-Homicide Division (RHD), who has an unwavering moral compass and duty to serve justice.
Bosch: Legacy Cast and Character Guide
Meet the cast of Bosch: Legacy before Season 2 returns to the air in October 2023.
Ballard is also supervised by Ted Rawls (Michael Mosley), an officer assigned to monitor her investigations. As the unit takes shape, Ballard invites former LAPD officer Samira Parker (Courtney Taylor) onto the team. Parker has more investigative experience than the legal intern, Martina Castro (Victoria Moroles), and the eager volunteer, Colleen Hatteras (Rebecca Field).
Complicating matters at work is Detective Robert Olivas (Ricardo Chivara), a dashing investigator who shares a dramatic history with Ballard. Off work, Ballard leans on her grandmother, Tutu (Amy Hill), for support. As Season 1 progresses, Ballard and her cold case unit focus on the shady politician, Jake Pearlman (Noah Bean), and his influential ally, Nelson Hastings (Alain Uy).
For franchise fans' sake, here’s hoping that the newest spinoff will eclipse the previous one and live up to the original.
