Ballard: Something New and Compelling in the LAPD

Well, it's no Bosch -- nothing else could be -- but Ballard, all ten episodes of which debuted on Amazon Prime early this month, certainly is a notable, compelling new LA cop series, with some unique, unusual, and worthy aspects.

First, Ballard is very much in the Bosch universe. Detective Renée Ballard was introduced in the most recent (and apparently final) season of Bosch: Legacy late last year.  Bosch himself serves a small but crucial role in what I hope will be just the first season of Ballard, which has not yet been renewed.  Crate & Barrel, Honey Chandler, J. Edgar, and Mo all put in appearances in Ballard, and they're good and fun to see.

[Some spoilers ahead ... ]

The story itself is pretty close to the opposite of fun, which I guess a cold-case unit, which Ballard is consigned to head, is bound to be.   Her rag-tag team seems to have an impossibly uphill job on its hands, which only gets worse as they discover they're not only looking for a serial killer, but a different monster who's a serial rapist, two of whose victims are actually in the unit.

Ballard and her cohort soon discover they're not only investigating bad guys, but people in the LAPD, who not only have disdain for Ballard, but some of whom may be bad guys themselves.  The series in many ways is a testament to female intelligence, determination, and resilience in what is still an intensely male chauvinistic world: the police.

There are more than one good detective story that play out in this series, with a resolution that manages to surprise and even shock, even in this well-trodden territory.  And there's a stunning ending that cries out for a another season, which I'll certainly be watching as soon as its up.

Good job by Maggie Q in the title role, and in fact everyone in the series.

See also Bosch: Legacy 2.1-2.4: Better and Better ... Bosch: Legacy 2.5-2.6: Maddie Steps Up ... Bosch: Legacy 2.7-2.10: The Highs and the Powerful Lows

See also Bosch: First Half: Highly Recommended ... Bosch: Second Half as Fine as the First ...  Bosch Season 2: Dragnet with Uber ... Bosch 3: Best Season So Far ... Bosch 4: Delivering and Transcending the Genre ... Bosch 5: Room with a Killer View ... Bosch Season 6: The Best Police on Television ... Bosch Season 7: Can't Let Go ... Bosch: Legacy: Even Better than Bosch

                   another kind of police story 
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music