Posted in: Amazon Studios, Preview, TV | Tagged: amazon studios, Bosch, bosch: legacy, harry bosch, maggie q, Michael Connelly, Mitzi Roberts, prime video, Renée Ballard

Bosch Universe: Maggie Q Set as Det. Renée Ballard in Upcoming Series

Maggie Q has been cast as Det. Renée Ballard in the still-untilted series spinoff from Bosch/Bosch: Legacy and Michael Connelly's novels.

Maggie Q has been cast as LAPD Detective Renée Ballard, the lead in the new untitled series set in the Bosch universe. Ballard is a lead character in six of Michael Connelly's books, often teaming up with Harry Bosch to make a formidable, unstoppable duo. The character has been Connelly's primary LAPD cop character ever since the aging-in-real-time Bosch retired years ago.

The Untitled Spinoff Series

The still-untitled series follows Detective Renée Ballard (Q), who is tasked with running the LAPD's new cold case division—a poorly funded, all-volunteer unit with the largest caseload in the city. Ballard approaches these frozen-in-time cases with empathy and determination. When she uncovers a larger conspiracy during her investigations, she'll lean on the assistance of her retired ally, Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver), to navigate the dangers that threaten both her unit and her life. In the current books, Ballard's cold case division is a small operation she set up herself with a combination of civilian analysts and volunteer retired cops, which is where Bosch gets to come in from time to time. She still faces scrutiny from the rest of the department, including enemies who would love to take her down.

Harry Bosch's Unofficial Successor

Renée Ballard has not appeared on Bosch or Bosch: Legacy but is based on Det. Mitzi Roberts from the LAPD who has been one of the technical advisors for the shows. A former bartender who became a tough-talking, wise-cracking detective, Roberts has worked the gamut of cases in the LAPD, including hunting down a prolific serial killer. Ballard is half-Samoan with a love of surfing who grew up in Hawaii but, like Harry Bosch, was orphaned early in life when her surfer father drowned at sea, leaving her abandoned and homeless. How she became a hardened and uncompromising LAPD cop has not yet been revealed by Connelly, nor whether her mother is still alive. Maggie Q, like Ballard, is also from Hawaii and looks the part. She spent her early twenties starring in action movies in Hong Kong and has made a successful transition to Hollywood movie and TV parts, the biggest of which were The CW's 2000s version of La Femme Nikita and as an FBI agent in Designated Survivor on ABC with Kiefer Sutherland. Connelly promised, "This show will have the same authenticity and propulsive momentum of 'Bosch: Legacy.' Fans of the books will love it."

Bosch: Legacy is streaming on Prime, and so will the new series featuring Renée Ballard.

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