Det. Ballard is Back as Prime Video Announces Season 2 Renewal
Maggie Q is back again as LAPD Detective Reneé Ballard in Michael Connelly’s adaptation, Ballard. On Friday, October 3, Prime Video announced Season 2 of Ballard, with production beginning as soon as fall 2025. Audience reception was well reviewed and the series opened with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, a clear demand for more. Maggie Q will reprise her role as Det. Ballard and Titus Welliver, as Harry Bosch of Bosch, will continue to be involved in the series. Season 2 will add on actor Jack Meade-Mullarkey to play a younger Harry Bosch in flashbacks, as the series takes a deeper dive into the past experiences that motivate the characters today.
Conspiracy and Corruption Run Deep
Season 1 of Ballard, a spin-off of Bosch, follows Det. Ballard as she leads a severely underfunded cold case unit, a transfer that was the result of speaking out against a corrupt superior in the Bosch series. Her entire team—Samira (Courtney Taylor), Thomas (John Carroll Lynch), Ted, (Michael Mosley), Colleen (Rebecca Field), Martina (Victoria Moroles), and Tutu (Amy Hill)—is made of up volunteers with unique skills that come together so solve decades old homicides. As Det. Ballard pursues two major cases throughout the season, she uncovers a deadly conspiracy up the entire chain of command in the LAPD. The two cold cases that appeared to be separate converge in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse as it is discovered that they are connected and are the nucleus to the corruption.
Here is the breakdown of a brief Season 1 recap:
The Sarah Pearlman case- as the new cold case unit is formed, Councilman Jake Pearlman wants the 24 year old case of his sister reopened and solved
The John Doe case- the team simultaneously investigates the case of a victim connected to LAPD corruption and the cartel
The two cases collide as it is discovered that Councilman Pearlman’s father is at the heart of the investigation
NOTE: watch the season to see the mouth-dropping cliffhanger!
What to Expect
Season 1 of Ballard explores multiple themes with a central focus on institutional corruption and police-related trauma. The corruption theme explores how dirty cops can manipulate the system, obstruct investigations, and operate beyond the bounds of moral and ethical codes. The series also takes a magnifying glass to how these crimes trigger past personal experiences and impact how the detectives investigate their work, often times creating professional challenges and placing their own lives in danger for the relentless pursuit of justice. But the underlying thematic motivation that Season 1 brings is giving a voice to those who can no longer advocate for their own justice. By focusing on cold case crimes, Ballard brings the audiences attention to the importance of empathy and persistence in seeking justice for those who have been ignored or forgotten. Ballard’s team of solely volunteers brings out the heart of the show—humans have the power to change the world by simply caring enough to be good to and for one another.
Stream Ballard now on Amazon Prime Video.