[WARNING: This post contains MAJOR spoilers from Bosch: Legacy Season 3, Episode 10, “Dig Down”.]
Titus Welliver and Maggie Q are saying goodbye to Bosch: Legacy, the popular Bosch sequel, after a too-short three seasons. The series finale introduced Maggie Q’s character, Renée Ballard, who will lead an upcoming spinoff based on another of Michael Connelly best-selling series of mystery novels.
TV Insider spoke to Titus Welliver and Maggie Q about the Bosch: Legacy series finale, which finally solved the long unsolved case of three young murdered women from a decade ago. Plus, scoop on the Ballard spinoff and more.
The main characters of these two Michael Connelly mystery series unite in Bosch: Legacy’s season finale when Renée Ballard visits Harry Bosch in his office with a murder case she’s working on that closely resembled one he had been involved with years ago. Why did she enlist his help?
Maggie Q: She was fully convinced that no one knew this case better than Harry Bosch. Not only would he be her best resource and ally, but she wanted to make sure that this case that he had to walk away from got solved. Because of Harry’s reputation [as a rule-skirter], she got a lot of push back from the powers that be, but he was the one who had sacrificed a lot trying to solve the murders of three young Asian girls. So she ended up breaking some rules of her own to include him because that was the right way.
Titus Welliver: Yes, we’ve seen those pictures on his desk for ten years and Ballard discovers the murder book from this case has gone missing and she believes he stole them from the station. He didn’t, but he made a copy. Because of Harry’s reputation, she approaches him in a clandestine manner. They’re not dissimilar in their temperament and certainly their work ethic and their relentlessness. So when they first meet, we’re shining flashlights in each other’s eyes. There’s a kind of good will that has to be nurtured and fostered. There’s mistrust there on both parts that exists.
In the books, Ballard is a cold Case detective; is she in that department when they first meet?
Maggie Q: No, she’s RHD, robbery and homicide. When we see her in the beginning of [the spinoff], things will have changed for her.
She’s in the LAPD, and he’s a private detective, I assume they disagree about protocols.
Maggie Q: That’s absolutely true. Harry Bosch has always colored outside the lines and that’s why he’s been so successful at his job. But they butt heads because she wants him to do it by the book so that they can get the support of the people that they need and they don’t screw themselves over in that way and it doesn’t negatively affects the case. She’s a stickler for rules, but there’s also a bigger picture here. What do want to achieve together? We both want the same thing, but let’s do it right.
Welliver: She has to, but he’s not a cop anymore and there’s a stubborn, dogged part of Harry that has him work around things, which Ballard can’t afford to do. But he doesn’t want to blow up her career or cause her harm. Ultimately, though, they’re in an agreement to be allies to do this.
Was she always passionate about this case and its connection to the older murders?
Maggie Q: Not at first. But when she sees all his research and his passion, she’s inspired by his drive and how this case got under his skin. Because of their alliance, it becomes her responsibility too. She saw something in him that really touches her heart. That bonded them a lot.
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Welliver: That definitely happens through this process. There’s a moment near the end when they take this guy into custody, she turns to Harry, and he’s definitely in the zone. There’s a glimpse of what she sees – what people have seen in Harry – and her line to him is, “You look into the darkness.” And I think some of that darkness is gone. And she says, “Harry,” and he looks at her, and says, “We’ll be okay.” They are kindred spirits, though Renée has not been penetrated in the same way Harry has been, where there would be an abyss inside. But there were true grace notes with us.
It was nice to see Bosch’s daughter Maddie (Madison Lintz) involved in the final case in a very important way.
Welliver: Definitely.
Let’s move briefly to the new show. Titus has revealed that he’ll show up a few times and interact with Renée. Where is Renée when the show opens?
Welliver: I will just say there is some crossover, for lack of a better term. But she’s been kicked to cold case which isn’t like moving higher up on the ladder in RHD.
Maggie Q: She and Bosch both hate injustice and there were some injustices that Ballard faced in RHD. She stood up for herself and there was consequences or that. That’s a very Bosch move in terms of what they will sacrifice for a greater good.
Welliver: There’s a lot of people in the system that she can’t trust. And funnily enough, the guy that she came into this not trusting is probably the most trusted person that she can rely on. And he’s not even in the department.
Can you mention a couple of regulars?
Maggie Q: John Carroll Lynch and Courtney Taylor will eventually work in Ballard’s department. I’m their boss.
What can you say about your May 20 appearance on The Equalizer, where you play a cop?
Welliver: It’s a guest appearance with Juana Feliz; we play a father and daughter. But that’s not going to be a spinoff with us. It’s a one-off with us coming in. I really want to focus my energy on Bosch In Space. I really want someone to pick that up. (Laughs) This is me trying lure the Robot Chicken people in. I do have to say that’s been a tremendous privilege that Maggie and I got to work together. I love her very much and I’ve respected her work deeply for many years. And Ballard will be sensational. So I’m very excited for Maggie and for the rest of that cast, and for the fans of Bosch and all of Michael’s books to see Ballard so perfectly and beautifully realized by Maggie’s incredible gift.
Maggie Q has been known to love to do action scenes? Will we see that in Ballard?
Maggie Q: It’s going to have its high-octane moments, which is super fun, and then there’s going to be a lot of good detective work. So we found a nice balance. We have the same stunt coordinator that they had on Bosch.
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I will say that it’s a very different show. It’s a West Side show, so it’s shot at the beach in Malibu. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I haven’t seen a show shot like this since Baywatch. Ballard lives in Malibu, and she goes home to the beach. That’s her peace among the dark underbelly of her work. It’s an interesting juxtaposition. I hope that people will appreciate that this city’s a really dark place, but it’s also a geographically insanely beautiful place.
It will be nice to see L.A. in the daytime, since a lot of Legacy was shot at night.
Welliver: Bosch was a dark man in the night; a night crawler. I do show up in the daylight ‘cause Ballard’s a surfer. There are swim-by scenes where I’m wearing a brightly fluorescent colored speedo, so I’m excited about that.
You are definitely fit, but let’s hope that’s a joke.
(Both laugh) Yes.
Maggie Q: Not to be get too sad about it, but I want to say that a lot of what we shot is now gone after the fires. And so yeah, I thought a lot about that after it happened. The shoreline that we spent so many weeks shooting is completely leveled.
I’m so sorry.
Maggie Q: So we have captured a part of L.A. that will never ever literally be the same. It got to me so much and I hope that we’re able to show the world what it was and then then what it will be. If we keep going.
Bosch: Legacy, Season 3, Streaming Now, Prime
