Ballard
Detective Renée Ballard is tasked with running the LAPD's new cold case division—a poorly funded, all-volunteer unit with the largest case load in the city. When she uncovers a larger conspiracy during her investigations, she'll lean on the assistance of her retired ally, Harry Bosch, to navigate the dangers that threaten both her unit and her life.
Wokeness: 100%
Overall Score: 30%
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Jon Loder
What has happened to M. Connelly's stories?
I've read every Michael Connelly novel and short story. Most of them at least twice. There's no apparent agenda in any of his written works, or even the movies, such as Blood Work, and The Lincoln Lawyer. The TV series have been getting progressively worse. In Ballard, the story starts up when Rene is in Cold Cases. That's book 5 in the series. That's too bad. There are some great stories in Rene's night shift times. Maggie Q does a great job of portraying the character from the book. Her supporting actors in her ragtag group of volunteers do a great job. The wokeness became apparent a couple of episodes in. A strong, masculine character was revealed to be married to another man. In following episodes, he became more apparent. Also, Rene was attacked in her sleep by a combat-trained bad guy. He's an ex-cop working for cartels. He's bigger, stronger, trained in fighting, and has the advantage of starting the attack by strangling her while she's sleeping. She still bests him, lethally. Connelly stories are great material. It's depressing to see the agenda ruin the show. The character in the book got by with her patience, wisdom, determination, and intelligence.
Created: 07-13-2025
Big Eva
Every woke trope
Aside from my below review on wokeness, the quality of writing is generally low compared to Bosch. Instead of throwing you into the story and slowly introducing characters over the course of several seasons like Bosch did, you get a clunky exposition scene of Ballard introducing her team all at once. Fiction writing should show and not tell. The writing is contrived and more in line with what you expect from network TV prime time slog. This show is so focused on the woke message they forgot how to write a good script. The men are all dumb. They are either perpetrators, or guilty by association or gay. Both Bosch series establish that there are many good honorable cops in the LAPD. In this show that is erased. A grandparent figure basically says all the cops are capable of Rodney King level racism, and that’s why the force needs black cops.
The only good male character is gay, everyone other man is generally a pig unless he’s a minority. There’s a clear double standard as well. A grandma oogles a naked man, and it’s played for laughs. In the same episode a book where guys rate sexual encounters is seen as abusive and wrong. One of the women in the book literally murdered a guy and the detectives feel remorse for her instead of the murder victim.
Created: 07-25-2025
Javier
Ballard: A Hollow, Preachy Imitation of Bosch
Ballard tries to ride on the coattails of Bosch, but it falls flat almost immediately. The show is bogged down by excessive, empty dialogue that adds nothing to the plot or character development. The pacing is painfully slow, lacking the tension and rhythm that made Bosch compelling.
Instead of building an engaging crime drama, it leans heavily into predictable, surface-level “woke” stereotypes: the overly independent female lead, the “body positive” comic relief, a token character in a wheelchair, and a parade of incompetent or villainous white male characters. These tropes are inserted so blatantly that they overshadow any potential for authentic storytelling.
The writing feels more like a checklist of political talking points than an organic narrative, and the result is a shallow, preachy mess. Fans of Bosch expecting the same grit and nuance will be sorely disappointed. Ballard isn’t just a weak spin-off — it’s a poor imitation that never earns its place.
Created: 08-02-2025
Brian
Woke obsession ruins good plot
They changed a story based on good books about a female cop into a woke Olympics. From the overtly gay team member to the constant reminders of how bad men are… they didn’t waste any opportunity to shove another woke theme into the plot. Ruins the show. Which has promise, like all of Michael Connelly’s writing does.
Created: 08-05-2025
