Bosch (2014 - 2021) - Series Retrospective (and Season 7 Review)

Crime Procedurals are a dime a dozen nowadays. The genre, which has become a staple for channels like CBS, with its 20 or 22 year run shows of Law and Order - SVU, NCIS, Criminal Minds, has a high possibility of becoming stale or running its course. And after 2020, police procedurals and even comedies related to cops (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) started to feel decidely unsavory and valorizing towards a profession historically involved with societal ills, both for its cure as well as for its increasing effect.

Among the glut of these police procedurals, very few stand out, evolve and become something almost multi-generational in impact. Be it The Wire or Homicide - Life on the Streets, shows like those evolve past the constraints of the police procedurals because of the change in its key foci. Most police procedurals would be very plot heavy each episode, with the plot resolving itself by the end of the episode. The beauty of shows like The Wire, or Homicide, and currently Bosch is its exploration of cause and effect, the main case wouldn't be an easy one that would be completed under 42 minutes, but spread out over seasons, and if the show has a writer's room savvy enough to figure out how to rewire the case specifics into the societal or even official aspects of the show, that added new layers to a show already complex and nuanced.

From Left to Right - Lance Reddick as Irvin Irving, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar, Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch and Ami Aquino as Grace Billets

However at the end of the day, Eric Overmyer's Bosch, based on the series of novels by Michael Connelly, is successful because of one simple aesthetic reason - the show is just unabashedly cool, and the characters are mostly supremely capable, and also badass.

When Bosch started one of the biggest criticism of the show was that it felt very much like a standard police procedural, warts and all, even though it had sparks of brilliance. Harry Bosch as a character was fully formed right out of the gate, even though the show had a tendency to fall on the procedural trappings. But by season 2, the key thing about Bosch started to take shape, one that would separate it from its other major prestige competition - consistency.

Bosch standing at the entrance of the Angels Flight railway in Season 4 - one of the best in the show's run.

Starting from Season 2, Bosch became what is becoming an increasingly non-existent aspect of a TV series nowadays - a solid reliable binge. The writers figured out how to take Connelly's books, two or three at a time per season, and remix and restructure them to a 10 episode season, and the results ranged from compelling, watchable to almost sublimely perfect in its execution for Season 4, which took 3 of Connelly's best and created a season which built on the plots of the previous seasons, delivered a killer noir plot for the current season, and somehow managed to juggle 4 subplots at the same time, while also delivering emotional catharsis and character growth for both Bosch and his daughter Madeline.

From Top left - Mimi Rogers as Honey Chandler, Amy Aquino as Lt. Grace Billets, Madison Lintz as Maddie Bosch with Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch, Annie Wersching as Julia brasher, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar, Sarah Clarke as Eleanor Wish (Season 1 - 4), Gregory Scott Cummins and Troy Evans as Crate and Barrel, Jeri Ryan as Veronica Allen (Season 2 - 3), Paul Calderon as Santiago "Jimmy" Robertson

The definite highlight of the series is the translation of the source material. Welliver as Bosch is far more relaxed than Connelly's Bosch, but the essence of his character is translated flawlessly, and Welliver gives a character defining performance - Titus Welliver is Harry Bosch, like Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark or Hugh Jackman is Wolverine, or Jeremy Brett is Sherlock Holmes. The best part about Welliver's portrayal of Bosch is he is very adept in showcasing Bosch as a man growing, learning from his mistakes, becoming a father to his daughter, all the while being one of the best detectives on gthe police force, and yet righteous and fighting against a system already bent beyond recognition. The supporting cast slowly develops into an ensemble where every character is a fan favorite for someone, be it Paul Calderon as Santiago "Jimmy" Robertson, Amy Aquino as LT. Billets, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar or Crate and Barrell played with sly humor and world weary experience by Troy Evans and Gregory Scott Cummins. And the show slowly became its own thing from the books, focusing on characters who had died by the first book (Honey Chandler played by Mimi Rogers), or tweaking the combative relationship between certain characters like Irvin Irving (played by Lance Reddick) and Harry Bosch.

The Unadorned Los Angeles in Bosch

At its core though Bosch is always about four things - Bosch's relationship with his daughter ( a sublime Madison Lintz who got better and better each season, and became almost a co-lead in the later seasons), his relationship with his partner J.Edgar , his relationship to the LAPD, and his relationship to LA, the city as a whole.

It isn't a surprise that LA was such a huge part of the show, but Bosch's portrayal of the city of LA somehow brings forth with it an old school charm, like Bosch's love for Jazz in Vinyl, but Overmyer and his writers show us an LA which is its own character, with its huge area, different divisions, different sects of life, and Bosch and the LAPD's efforts to navigate the underbelly of LA is what makes the show so effortlessly compelling. The last time I saw Los Angeles being used so flawlessly as a character was in Michael Mann's Collateral.

Bosch Season 7 starts off slow and even meandering, like its previous season. It is an uneven season as a whole, though I appreciated the writers bringing back characters from earlier season and trying to bring the show back full circle, and while the cases varied widely between intensity of moments and importance, the show ultimately ends in a way that makes Bosch Season 7 finale serve as a series finale, but unlike most series finales, the character simply adapts and moves on. Good thing too, because the announcement of a spinoff might take away the impact of this season as a whole, but this is definitely an end of an era; disappointing in its almost rushed sense of closure, I appreciated the writers' efforts in helping us give closure to the characters. I am sad that the show ends, but I am also happy we will get to see the characters down the road.

If you want old school noir thrillers done in a modern bent, a police procedural where stakes resonate throughout all seasons, and where all the characters are easy to root for, and also supremely capable in their own right, Bosch is the show for you. Easily Amazon Prime's most consistent show over the past 8 years.

My only request - please keep the theme song of the show (see the above video) for the spinoff. Now if you will excuse me I will go and listen to that song on repeat.