When Amazon dropped its first season of BOSCH last year, success was instant. The series based on Michael Connelly’s novels quickly set records and immediately became the streaming service’s top-selling title on Prime Instant Video, a position it continued to hold until the end of 2015.
This character-driven crime drama is back with a second season that’s going to test Harry Bosch. But the man who plays the dogged and damaged homicide detective has a warning for those who antagonize his character: “God help his tormentors,” says Titus Welliver with authority.
Round 2 of the series features even more complex storytelling and relevant topics. “I think we’re reflecting a lot of what’s pressing in today’s society from good cops, bad cops, human trafficking, all kinds of stuff,” teases Michael Connelly. “We get some domestic terrorism aspects in here. We’re exploring a lot of stories and it’s amazing how a lot of that stuff is interlocking.”
At the end of the first season, the annoying gnat that is Captain Pounds found himself on the business end of Harry’s anger. Bosch paid for that aggressive act with a six-month suspension. When Season 2 picks up, his leave of absence is over and Bosch is in a good place.
“When he comes back, he’s not quite as tightly wound,” explains showrunner, Eric Overmyer. “He’s in better shape, a little bit relaxed. He immediately catches a case and he gets wound up again. He’s back to being Harry — a dog with a bone. And he won’t let go. He is who he is.”
“I think Harry’s learned from his mistakes but he’s still the same guy. The circumstances and/or stakes that occur this season are higher than you can possibly imagine,” feels Welliver. “The audience will see a side of Harry that they’ve not seen before.”
Bosch is no longer facing his demons while chasing down a serial killer. “It’s not such a personal case. But then in the course of following the case, it’s made personal to him,” says Overmyer. “It’s not a case that invokes his childhood the way the first season did but it’s a case that touches close to home for Harry.”
The stakes are raised because Bosch’s investigation leads to a mob connection. According to Welliver, “They don’t play by the rules. This is the Armenian-Russian mob organization. All you have to do is turn the television on to see what happens when you go up against these guys. They don’t adhere to the old La Cosa Nostra ideas of you don’t kill cops and things like that so all bets are off.”
That doesn’t mean the mob shouldn’t be worried. “What they don’t ultimately understand is they’re dealing with a guy who’s not just a cop but he’s a former Special Forces 10th Group operator,” Welliver explains. “You push a button on a guy like that. God knows what can happen. There’s that inner sort of wolf hunter [that] shows himself.”
Bosch has a lot to handle in Season 2 on a personal, professional, physical and psychological level. “There are so many variables,” Welliver says. “The analogy of the guy on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW spinning the plates. In Season 1, I think he was using both hands and now he has to use his feet as well. There’s a lot going on.”
And not just with his character. “You also have this other story with Lance Reddick’s character, Deputy Chief Irving’s son who’s working in an undercover capacity,” teases Welliver. “A lot of things unfold there.”
“All I can say is there’s a lot of really, really good stuff and we’re also blessed to have incredible guest actors this season as well as a returning core cast,” he continues. “I was very proud of what we accomplished in the first season. I think we’ve surpassed what we did in the first season. And not in a contrived way. I’m not driving a Ferrari and I’m not wearing Brioni suits. He’s still the same Harry but there’s a lot going on.”
The ten-episode second season of BOSCH lands on Amazon tomorrow.
Credit : Tina Charles
SENIOR ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER | Tiffany covers events such as San Diego Comic-Con, WonderCon and press junkets, as well as covering events at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills. She has a great love for television and believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored. Tiffany is one of the newest members to the prestigious Television Critics Association and is happy to be able to share her passion for television shows with an even wider audience of fans and her fellow critics..
