Friday 13 February spells good luck for fans of Michael Connelly’s LA detective Harry Bosch. That’s the day Amazon will be releasing its 10-episode series Bosch, which is based on the character. You’ll be able to watch it via Amazon Prime Instant Video in the UK, US and Germany. Episode one is already available, currently free if you’re a Prime member, and you can watch it here.
If the names Jack Reacher and Tom Cruise spring to mind when crime fiction adaptations are mentioned, we understand your apprehension. However, we’ve previewed the first four episodes, and if they’re anything to go by then Connelly fans will be hooked. Titus Welliver (Sons of Anarchy, Argo) is the television face of Hieronymus Bosch. It is a worn, battle weary visage, maybe a little too tanned for a man who spends most of his life at crime scenes or at home reading about them, but with incredibly expressive eyes that are just so… Bosch. Michael Connelly thinks it is perfect casting and I have to agree with him.
Here’s the trailer.
From the opening credits, featuring kaleidoscopic images that seem to echo the myriad fractured plot strands, this is a crime series designed to engage and doggedly hold your attention. Yes, this is a thoroughly modern take on crime, but I found myself harking back to the halcyon days of Jim Rockford, Columbo and Kojak. What a great vibe it has to it.
The series is primarily based on elements from Connelly’s books City of Bones (2002), The Concrete Blonde (1994) and Echo Park (2006), and in keeping with his work, we are offered an intimate portrait of rarely-seen Los Angeles back streets and neighbourhoods. It follows the relentless LAPD homicide detective as he pursues the killer of a 13-year-old boy, while standing trial in federal court on accusations that he murdered a suspected killer in cold blood.
Bosch’s investigation takes on a life and death urgency when Rodney Belk (chillingly portrayed by Abraham Benrubi), confesses to the boy’s murder and a number of other homicides, then escapes custody and begins a murderous rampage across LA. Bosch and the killer are locked in a cat and mouse game, with Belk taunting Bosch as the investigation turns deeply personal. The case unearths Bosch’s buried past as well as entangling his ex-wife and 14-year-old daughter.
If you have Amazon Prime, then we highly recommend you check it out.
Below is an interview with Michael Connelly and Titus Welliver care of TVDRAMA.WS. Click here to read our review of the anniversary edition of the first Hieronymus Bosch book, The Black Echo.
