Why Harry Bosch's New Series Is Releasing On MGM+ After Prime Video's Spinoff Clarified By Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch creator and author Michael Connelly has cleared up why the character’s newest TV show is coming to MGM+ rather than Prime Video.

While Bosch as a literary character has been investigating crimes going back to 1992’s The Black Echo, he made his TV debut in 2014 with Prime Video’s Bosch, starring Titus Welliver in the titular role. Following that show wrapping up in 2021 after seven seasons, Welliver went on to reprise the character in a leading capacity for Bosch: Legacy, and as a guest star on Ballard. Now, Gotham and Shameless‘ Cameron Monaghan is stepping in to play a younger Bosch in Bosch: Start of Watch, but unlike its predecessors, this prequel will stream on MGM+.

When asked by a fan on Threads why Start of Watch is airing on MGM+, Connelly answered, “That’s the studio that wanted the show. Others passed.” This won’t be the first time that a show set in the Bosch franchise has been presented on a platform other than Prime Video, as Bosch: Legacy aired on the now-defunct Amazon Freevee. That said, MGM+ is now run as a companion streaming service to Prime Video following Amazon’s acquisition of MGM in 2021, so Start of Watch is being kept within the corporate family.

It’s unclear if Bosch: Start of Watch episodes will later become available to watch on Prime Video, or if they’ll remain solely confined to MGM+. Earlier this year, Spider-Noir released its entire season on MGM+ first, and then it was delivered to Prime Video two days later. Other currently-airing MGM+-exclusive original programming include Godfather of Harlem (which is concluding with a two-hour series finale), From, The Institute, Robin Hood, The Westies, and American Hostage.

The 1992-set Bosch: Start of Watch follows Monaghan’s 26-year-old Harry Bosch coming back to the United States after serving in the Persian Gulf War, and joining the Los Angeles Police Department ahead of the city’s riots in response to the Rodney King beating. Although this is the first Bosch TV show not to adapt any of Connelly’s existing work, Welliver’s son Eamonn did portray a younger Bosch as an LAPD officer in Bosch: Legacy flashbacks. Before that, Welliver’s other son, Quinn, played the character as an adolescent in Bosch.

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Monaghan is joined in Bosch: Start of Watch by Omari Hardwick as his LAPD training officer Eli Bridges, Ariana Guerra as fellow LAPD officer and romantic interest Rosa, and J.D. Pardo as Cory, Bosch’s criminal foster brother. Connelly has also confirmed that Welliver will not reprise Bosch in any present-day flash-forwards on Start of Watch. Tom Bernardo and Brian Anthony created the prequel and executive produce it, with Bernardo also serving as showrunner.

The first two episodes of Bosch: Start of Watch will be released on Sunday, January 10 on MGM+. New episodes will follow weekly until February 21. Meanwhile, Ballard is returning for season 2, and the latest Harry Bosch book, The Hollow, was released earlier this year.