Amazon’s Underrated Mystery Show
The appeal ofΒ Bosch isΒ Amazon’s long-running cop show starring Titus Welliver as Los Angeles detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch. It is rooted in the sturdy, reliable nature of the series and the character.
When you start a new season, you know what to expect: Harry will do his best to solve a tricky new case. He will deal with some problems in his occasionally messy personal life. Bosch will piss off the careerist bureaucrats in the police department and eventually use his gun.
Bosch Is The Quintessential Dad Show
In many ways, BoschΒ is the quintessential “dad show.” It is a micro-genre defined by former Thrillist writer Anna Silman as a series that has some sort of crucial dad-ness about it.
Who Is Harry Bosch?
Detective Hieronymus Harry is a Los Angeles homicide detective. He always plays by his own rules. It is first introduced in the 1992 crime novel The Black Echo. Michael Connelly is the writer. It further fleshed out in the subsequent 21 Bosch books that followed, the character part Phillip Marlowe and part Dirty Harry.
He is a laconic cop with a military background and anti-authority tendencies. Though he occasionally bends the law in his pursuit of justice or breaking into a house to discover some evidence, he’s not an antihero like The Shield‘sΒ Vic Mackey. He lives by his philosophy: “Everybody matters, or nobody matters.”
The Underrated Show
Amazon gives its humble beginnings as an online book retailer. Its decision to adopt Bosch as one of its marquee shows makes sense. The pilot debuted in 2014 as part of Amazon’s initial pilot program.
It allowed the viewers to vote on their favourites. However, the first season premiered in February 2015. Since then, a new season appears every year like clockwork, with the upcoming announcement of the seventh season to be the final one.
Characters
No grizzled detective is an island- especially not Harry. As you move further into the world of Bosch, you get more into the supporting characters.
The characters include his easy-going partner Jerry Edgar (The Wire’sΒ Jamie Hector) and his watchful superior officer Lieutenant Grace Billets (Amy Aquino). They may also have his weary Chief of Police Irvin Irving (The Wire’sΒ Lance Reddick).
Harry And Maddie
The relationship between Bosch and his daughter Maddie (Madison Lintz) also provides for some sweet dad humour moments. Bosch doesn’t know how to work on Skype.
The producers and casting directors also know how to cast fun actors in season-long guest spots. However, Matthew Lillard and Jeri Ryan pop up in Season 2. As good as Welliver is, he needs game performers to play off of, and Harry consistently delivers.
