“Bosch: Legacy” isn’t so much a spinoff as a continuation of Amazon’s long-running Los Angles noir, which came to an end last year and was simply called “Bosch” for its seven-season run. This time out, with legacy on the mind, our squinty hero Hieronymus Bosch — Harry to all who know him — has handed in his LAPD detective badge and he’s working for himself, out of nondescript office, as a private investigator. If you think that means fewer dead bodies and threats of violence crossing his path, you don’t know Harry.
Played with a quietly intense charisma by Titus Welliver, the show has moved from Amazon Prime to Freevee (formerly known as IMDb TV, the free, ad-supported streaming service also owned by Amazon) and it remains something of an outlier — neither prestige nor the kind of overheated, ham-fisted cop show that still predominates on the broadcast networks. It’s a consistently good spin on the detective genre and it’s already been renewed for a second season. Wisely, showrunners Allison Berkley and Briana Vowels aren’t trying to reinvent the formula first established in the source material, aka Michael Connelly’s novels. Harry may employ some brutish tactics when necessary, but he does it sparingly and he’s more cerebral than most guys doing this sort of work. He’s the thinking man’s untangler of criminal knots.
And so: An aging billionaire hires Harry to track down the whereabouts of an old college girlfriend; she was pregnant when they split, which means this childless captain of industry may have an heir. Harry’s on the case. Two other threads dominate the season. There’s Harry’s old frenemy, the defense attorney Honey Chandler, fully recovered from the gunshot wound that nearly killed her in the final season of “Bosch.” Now she and Harry work together on occasion, leaning on their mutual expertise. And then there’s Harry’s daughter Maddie Bosch (a moniker that’s always sounded like it might be Australian slang for drunk) following in her father’s footsteps by joining the LAPD, where she is a rookie police officer, or “boot” in the parlance.
Let’s first address the elephant in the room: The Maddie portions are just silly, not the least because Madison Lintz (who we’ve watched grow up from the show’s beginning) is giving a very tenacious but unvaried performance as a young woman looking to prove herself and emulate her father’s motto — everybody counts or nobody counts — in some of the least interesting ways imaginable. Frankly, the Maddie scenes feel like they exist because the prospect of every scene featuring actors over the age of 60 made someone in a Hollywood corner office jumpy. But more than that, the Maddie segments are just shameless copaganda.
When Welliver and Mimi Rogers (as Honey) are on screen, though, what they’re doing is nothing short of low-key brilliance. Here are two seasoned actors showing how to get across plenty of subtext and introspection without laying it on thick. They are forever bending and breaking the rules: “No one has to know,” they tell one another. It’s self-justifying claptrap but you buy it from these two because they’re serious people who aren’t in it for their own egos or financial gain.
Welliver’s contemplative talents have long been on display in this role and the show is at its best when it’s just Harry quietly talking with people. But Rogers, with that immaculate blunt cut bob, had me intrigued in these newest episodes. Honey is good at her job, full stop. She’s measured and curious and she’s not interested in showboating as she methodically sizes up and then takes down her opponent. She’s just extremely, impressively competent, which is fun to watch. There’s a hilarious scene in her office where she’s conferring with a fellow lawyer, who also has shoulder-length brown hair as well as Honey’s same affect and vocal cadence and overall vibe, and it’s like that meme where the two Spider-Mans are pointing at each other. Honey is not without her flaws and frailties, especially after that shooting, but she’s got one helluva game face: “OK, this is me wiping away a tear,” she says sarcastically to a rival attorney representing the man who shot her. You watch this performance and think, Rogers is getting across so much without looking like she’s doing anything.
There’s a new character, Stephen A. Chang’s tech ace, who helps Harry with all matters of surveillance (Chang’s easygoing way with the character’s shrug-and-bug duties deserves more screen time) plus a handful of cameos from the old show, including Jamie Hector’s Jerry, as Harry’s old partner, and the retired LAPD old-timers humorously referred to as Crate & Barrel (played by Troy Evans and Gregory Scott Cummins). Harry’s glorious house, cantilevered over the Hollywood Hills, is also reduced to a brief appearance after an earthquake turns it into a danger zone. Until he decides to sell it or shore up the foundation, he’s happy enough to sleep curled up on the couch in his office with his dog Coltrane. One morning they wake up and Harry gently strokes the dog’s head in greeting and in turn Coltrane, sprawled over his owner, gazes into his eyes like there’s a real relationship there, not just human actor and animal actor.
Like its predecessor, “Bosch: Legacy” is aiming for moderately engaging but never mentally taxing. There’s something comforting about that — and there’s something comforting about the title character himself. Harry will always figure things out because he’s smart and diligent and he’s nobody’s fool. Harry is who you go to if you have a problem.
We all need a Harry. Somewhere, executives at Amazon are betting enough audiences feel the same.
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“Bosch: Legacy” — 3 stars (out of 4)
Where to watch: Freevee (formerly known as IMDb TV)
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