Bosch: TV’s best-written cop drama

“There are two kinds of truth – the kind that gets bent and manipulated for someone’s self-interest, and the kind that you carry inside and know is real.” – Harry Bosch in Season 5

Based on bestselling author Michael Connelly’s series of crime novels that have sold over 74 million copies, Bosch has achieved a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes for Seasons 2-5, which were each drawn from a combination of different novels. 

Bosch has been hailed as “the most reliably entertaining series of its kind on TV” by Screenrant and “one of TV’s most irresistible binges… TV’s best-written cop drama” by Newsday. 

Now streaming first on Showmax in Africa, Season 5 is based on Connelly’s 2017 novel, Two Kinds of Truth, a #1 New York Times bestseller, which lead actor Titus Welliver described on Twitter as his favourite book. 

Here’s what you can expect for your favourite cast members this season:

Harry Bosch

Homicide detective Hieronymous ‘Harry’ Bosch is a dogged, old-school cop dedicated to tackling the LAPD’s most sinister cases, despite actually being pretty well-off financially, thanks to (meta-alert!) the crime novels based on his career. 

Bosch is played by Screen Actors Guild nominee Titus Welliver, aka Silas Adams in Deadwood, Glenn Childs in The Good Wife, and James ‘Jimmy’ O’Phelan in Sons of Anarchy. 

Season 5 picks up just over a year after Bosch finally got some closure on his mother’s death. This season, two tense, intersecting plotlines will put his career – and his life – in peril. Bosch finds himself accused of having planted evidence in an old murder case, which calls into question not only his integrity, but potentially all his previous cases, and with them, his career. We’ll also see Bosch – alias: Dominic Reilly – go undercover, armed with only a (admittedly pretty deadly) walking cane, to blow the lid off a violent opioid ring after a murder at a Hollywood pharmacy. 

Jerry Edgar

Bosch’s long-time partner Detective Jerry Edgar likes his suits crisp and his interrogations to the point. Pre-Bosch, you might have spotted actor Jamie Hector in Power or Heroes, but you’ll definitely remember him as The Wire’s drug kingpin and uber-villain Marlo Stanfield. 

Following their fall-out (and Jerry’s brush with death) in the aftermath of Season 3, Jerry has reconciled with both Bosch and his ex-wife, but it remains to be seen whether Latonya is willing to put her heart on the line for someone who puts their life on the line on a daily basis.

When Bosch suddenly drops off the radar this season, it’ll be up to Jerry to track him down – without blowing his cover and risking his life; and later in the season, Jerry will make a very risky move, confronting a criminal element far too close to home, after Crate (Gregory Scott Cummins) uncovers dodgy crime stats in the Hollywood department.

New and familiar faces this season

Bureau boss Chief Irvin Irving played by Lance Reddick (John Wick, The Wire) considers a move into politics this season when Jen Kowski (Daya Vaidya) pushes him to run for mayor.

Meanwhile, Bosch’s daughter Maddie (Madison Lintz from The Walking Dead and Nashville) will be working at the DA’s office as an intern this season, and will have to make a tough decision with far-reaching consequences for her father. 

We’ll also be seeing more of Attorney Honey (AKA Money) Chandler, played by Mimi Rogers (Two and A Half Men), as she takes on Bosch’s defence when he’s accused of framing Preston Borders all those years ago. 

New to the line-up this season is Dalton Walsh, the big bad behind the deadly opioid ring, played by Chris Vance from Dexter and Prison Break, and Hector Bonner, Honey’s new investigator, played by Ryan Hurst, aka Harry “Opie” Winston in Sons of Anarchy and Beta in The Walking Dead. 

Good news for fans

Bosch was recently renewed for a sixth season, which will be based on the novels The Overlook and Dark Sacred Night. You can binge all five seasons so far now.