Games

Bosch: Legacy – What Could Happen If The Ballard Spin-Off Flops?

Published

2 weeks ago

November 6, 2024

Christoph Rediske

Key Takeaways

Table of Contents

Bosch: Legacy will end in March 2025, and it’ll be followed by the Ballard spin-off.
Fans are petitioning to Save Bosch: Legacy, and are questioning Amazon’s decision-making.
Uncertainty surrounds Ballard’s future, and there’s a fear it’ll be canceled given recent Amazon’s actions.

The final season of Bosch: Legacy will air in March 2025 on Prime Video, and it’ll be followed by a spin-off series focused on cold case investigator, Renee Ballard. The initial plan was to have Bosch: Legacy and Ballard act as companion shows as Michael Connelly’s television universe expanded. However, Amazon canceled Bosch: Legacy in September 2024, and axed the planned Jerry Edgar spin-off soon after that. Ballard is now the only show in the Bosch-verse that is actually moving forward, so what will happen if Amazon decides to cancel it after the first season if it doesn’t get the viewing figures it expects?

Harry Bosch will appear in guest spots in Ballard, but his solo stories are very much over, unless Amazon does a u-Turn and reinstates Bosch: Legacy for at least one more season. The fan petition to Save Bosch: Legacy is gathering pace, and creating a lot of noise in Hollywood, so it might be time for Amazon to step up and listen to the most important people involved in this: the fans. It’ll be great to see Renee Ballard make her first appearance on television screens next year, but nobody knows how well the series will do, especially in light of Bosch: Legacy‘s cancelation. Will Amazon give Ballard the chance to build its audience, or drop it like they have done with so many other shows?

Michael Connelly Has Acknowledged The Save Bosch: Legacy Petition And That’s A Good Thing

Michael Connelly was asked about the Save Bosch: Legacy petition in a recent interview, and he had nothing but positive things to say.

If Ballard Struggles To Find An Audience, Amazon Will Probably Kill The Bosch-verse Altogether

When Amazon announced in early 2023 that the Bosch-verse would be expanding with two spin-offs, fans were overjoyed. Ever since the original Bosch series put Amazon on the map in the streaming world back in 2014, it’s been one hit season after another. When Bosch ended after seven seasons in 2021, the fans weren’t done with the series and launched a petition to save it. Amazon took note and Bosch: Legacy was launched on Freevee in 2022. Harry Bosch’s post LAPD career as a private investigator became the focus, with Maddie Bosch and Honey Chandler bumped up to co-lead status. Fans were salivating at the prospect of Bosch, Ballard and Jerry Edgar forming a huge open universe of crime stories moving forward. Fast-forward to late 2024, and fans are bereft after being forced to bid farewell to Bosch: Legacy, while also licking their wounds over the further loss of the potentially great Jerry Edgar spin-off. The future of the Connelly-verse now relies solely on the success of Ballard: a character the fans haven’t even met yet.

Ballard was supposed to be propped up by Bosch: Legacy, at least for the first few seasons. Surely, if they thought Ballard could exist on its own, Harry Bosch wouldn’t even need to make any guest appearances, but he is. Every show needs time to settle in, and Ballard is no exception. Will Amazon give Ballard the time to progress and build its audience? That is debatable after they just canned a show that has successfully run for ten consecutive seasons. Amazon needs to listen to the fans, and the majority of them want more Harry Bosch. Of course, they want to see Ballard as well, but as one part of the trio, which includes two very well established characters in Bosch and Jerry Edgar.

Save Bosch: Legacy Key Facts

A petition to Save Bosch: Legacy can be signed HERE
Fans are creating a movement, and it’s getting Hollywood’s attention.
Amazon will have to start listening as the voices get louder!

The Fans’ Love For Harry Bosch Feels Like It’s Been Mis-Interpreted As Hate For Ballard But The Issue Is With Amazon

The fans have had over a decade of Harry Bosch stories, and they want more. It’s as simple as that. They don’t want Bosch in three episodes of Ballard at the expense of Bosch: Legacy. There was excitement surrounding the Ballad spin-off, but this has been quashed by the end of Bosch: Legacy. This isn’t negativity towards Ballard, and more of a reaction to the decision makers at Amazon. They promised the fans this big expanded universe, and now they are only getting one show based on a yet-to-be established character. Imagine inviting the same person into your living room for ten straight years, to then be told that he’s only popping in from time to time, but here you go: here’s someone else instead. Amazon needs to let Bosch: Legacy and Ballard crossover with each other, otherwise they are just alienating the fans.

Get Off Your A** And Knock On Doors

On a creative level, Ballard will undoubtedly be a success. Michael Connelly is involved, as are the majority of the team who worked on Bosch and Bosch: Legacy. After the consistent brilliance of the last decade’s worth of stories in the Bosch-verse, fans aren’t concerned that Ballard won’t live up to expectations. But, just like Bosch: Legacy was struck down in its prime, Amazon could cancel Ballard regardless of if it flops or not. If Ballard doesn’t get the instant audience Amazon expects based on its dodgy algorithm, they’ll just dump it on the scrapheap with all the other great shows that don’t fit their model. It could be the best show in the world, but it won’t get the time to build its audience, and this really will spell the end for the Bosch-verse.