Legacy’ More of the Same (Mostly), and That’s a Good Thing

The Amazon Prime series Bosch wrapped up last year, but most of the cast is back already for Bosch: Legacy, which airs on Freevee (formerly IMDb TV). Given that Bosch is one of the best cop shows ever made, I of course jumped at the chance to watch Legacy, which has Bosch (Titus Welliver) playing a private investigator, his daughter (Madison Lintz) now a rookie cop on the beat, and attorney Honey Chandler (Mimi Rogers) now working with Bosch to dig up dirt on the man who nearly killed her last season. As is usual for Bosch, the show interweaves several disparate stories and investigations.

The first thing you’ll notice is the incredible opening song and credits sequence has been replaced for something that feels much more low-rent (representative of being downgraded from Amazon Prime to Freevee, though you can still watch the show on Prime). Thankfully, most of the rest of the production and storytelling feel much in line with the quality you’d expect from the series, even if the investigations themselves aren’t quite as gripping or compelling as in past seasons. It’s still a solid watch, even if it isn’t a great one.

The second thing you’ll notice is the smaller cast. Missing is Bosch’s partner Jerry Edgar (Jamie Hector), police commissioner Irvin Irving (Lance Reddick), and Bosch’s former direct supervisor Grace Billets (Amy Aquino), all of whom were characters I really enjoyed and who added another level of complexity (and diversity) to the show. Coincidently or not, one of my least favorite characters, or at least one I didn’t need to see get elevated to lead, was Honey Chandler.

Regardless of specific characters, the biggest change—and what holds Legacy back from being as strong as the original series—is the lack of internal politics. With Bosch no longer a police officer, the intriguing push and pull of a man driven by his gut and a strong moral code contained within a bureaucratic system where politics can both aid and hamper investigations is lost. As is, Bosch: Legacy feels just a little less meaningful.

On the positive side, Lintz is given more time to shine as the “legacy” part of the show. While she isn’t entirely convincing as a police officer, her character continues to be well-written and her evolution from young girl to professional understandable; Lintz, for her part, is as good as always.

The show does her dirty, though, in the season’s final episode; the cliffhanger is shocking, but Bosch: Legacy makes it clear that it still considers her Bosch’s daughter–not someone who can take matters into her own hands.Despite its faults, Bosch: Legacy still has a lot of great things going for it. Welliver is as good as ever, the writing is above average, and the complex storytelling feels like a natural continuation of the original series. If only they had kept the intro the same…

By Erik Samdahl