Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: ballard, Bosch

Ballard Stars on Expanding "Bosch" Universe, Welliver's Return & More

Ballard stars Maggie Q, Courtney Taylor, and John Carroll Lynch spoke with Bleeding Cool about expanding the "Bosch" universe and much more.

Just as Titus Welliver dedicated 11 years of his life playing the title character in the Bosch franchise across 10 seasons and two series, he's been ready to pass the torch in the latest spinoff Ballard with star Maggie Q as the title character Det Renée Ballard, making her debut in the Bosch: Legacy finale. The Prime Video series, which like its predecessors, is also based on the Michael Connelly Harry Bosch novel series with Ballard originally introduced in his 2017 work "The Late Show." Q and co-stars Courtney Taylor (Samira Parker) and John Carroll Lynch (Thomas Laffont) spoke with Bleeding Cool about how they prepped themselves for the Bosch-verse, if they approached Ballard as an extension of a franchise or as a new original series, and how Welliver's return is more than a "passing the torch" moment.

The Michael Alaimo and Kendall Sherwood-created series follows Renée as she leads the LAPD's new and underfunded cold case division, tackling the city's most challenging long-forgotten crimes with empathy and relentless determination. As she peels back layers of crimes spanning decades, including a serial killer's string of murders and a murdered John Doe, she soon uncovers a dangerous conspiracy within the LAPD. With the help of her volunteer team and retired detective Harry Bosch, Detective Ballard navigates personal trauma, professional challenges, and life-threatening dangers to expose the truth.

Ballard Stars Maggie Q, Courtney Taylor, and John Carroll Lynch on Leading the "Bosch" Universe's West Coast Frontier

Bleeding Cool: When you signed up for 'Ballard, were there any specific Michael Connolly novels that you must catch up to prep?

Taylor: I started reading as soon as I got the audition. I was like, "I'm going to start reading this now." [Q laughs] I started reading the 'Ballad' and 'Bosch' series specifically, and the books are so exciting.

Q: They are.

Taylor: I was like "I cannot put this down!" Luckily, I got it on audiobook, so whenever I'm driving, I listen to it in the car, and anytime I'm doing a chore. It's written so well, and several cases are going on, then one major one. The relationships between the characters, and I was so happy to dive into those books. I'm like, "Let me go back and read the 'Bosch' books, and let me get back into the…let me start getting into this, because Michael Connelly's writing is insane. It's so good.

Q: I hadn't read anything. I read the first seven scripts, and then, after it was confirmed I was going to do it, then I dove in [Taylor laughs]. Like Courtney said, "It was so fun." It was like, "God! If we can make a show like the storytelling in these books, I'd be really happy," and so that was ultimately like the goal.

Lynch: Absolutely.

As actors coming in to this show, was there any pressure to balance what was already established in the "Bosch" universe or did you come in fresh like any project, and it's not something you think about beyond the script?

Lynch: There was a big attempt to honor what had been created before, but to create something new. Even at the first day we were working, I was talking to the director (Jet Wilkinson) about the kind of color palette the show would have in comparison to the 'Bosch' series and how it would be the same LA, but it would feel different because the point of view of the main character is different. I find that interestingly enough, I don't know if you guys think this, but there's kind of a west side-east side feeling. Ballard's on the beach, and that colors the story, whereas Harry's (Bosch) in the hills, and that makes a totally different kind of world. That's what's great about Los Angeles.

Q: I thought about it being a continuation, really, of anything. What you said is correct. You're honoring what was, but this is such a different show, totally different characters, a different type of world, and a different approach. Yet, there's that nice little through line between Ballard and Bosch's relationship I love that again is honored in our show and we try to nod to in our shows when it comes to 'Bosch.' I wasn't really conscious of it when we were making this. I felt like we were making a new show.

Taylor: Because it's written so well, and our writers did a wonderful job of taking from the book, and also leaning a little bit on what they know from 'Bosch' to create this entirely new and exciting version, which is…

Q: Different writers, different showrunners, everything's different. It really is a different show.

How do you describe the set that Michael and Kendall ran?

Lynch: It was filled with joy. I'll tell you that. We had a lot of fun. There was a lot of camaraderie, a lot of sense of play, but also the work was…everybody came to play, and it was fun to be on the set.

Taylor: Absolutely.

Final question, you got Titus Welliver coming back to pass the torch, what was it like having him on board?

Q: It was a bit more than that. He came on very generously to be able to nod to the universe to us. It was a real…he wanted to ingratiate us to his fans and everything he's built, which was huge and very generous. When you have your thing going on for 10 years, it's not an easy thing to jump on somebody else's show and be like, "I'm going to contribute to this thing that I want them to build." And like I said, "It was very generous of him and exciting for his fans to be able to see him in the West Side world," like John said. It's exciting for him, and it was exciting for us, because we all have great chemistry with Titus.

Lynch: Also, while I understand what you're saying in terms of a kind of need to pass the baton, it's not a vanity appearance; it's integral to the story, it has to happen.

Taylor: That's rooted.

Lynch: And that's how it played in the series and will continue to play in the future, because Bosch is alive in the world of these books and never leaves them.

Q: Wait, is he still alive?

Lynch: Yeah, it's still alive. [Taylor laughs] And so is Titus.

Ballard, which also stars Michael Mosley, Rebecca Field, Victoria Moroles, Amy Hill, Ricardo Chavira, Noah Bean, Alain Uy, and Hector Hugo, premieres July 9th on Prime Video.

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