Michael Connelly's 68-Episode Detective Show Perfects The Art Of Adapting Books For TV

Published Nov 7, 2026, 1:00 AM EST

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.

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While there are plenty of great book to TV adaptations, Prime Video’s four-show franchise has been a standout of the detective drama genre since its debut in 2014. Although a lot of books were once thought to be unfilmable, the streaming revolution has seen filmmakers and TV creators daringly take on all manner of iconic bestsellers. The innovations in TV as a medium have, in turn, prompted many innovative adaptations.

There are now even shows based on the works of HP Lovecraft, whose unique style of cosmic horror was often considered impossible to realize onscreen thanks to its esoteric nature. With such a diverse array of exceptional shows adapting so many infamously tricky books, it might seem surprising that one of the greatest book to TV adaptations of the last two decades comes from a series of accessible detective novels.

However, as the infamous final season of HBO’s fantasy hit Game of Thrones proved, a great adaptation of a straightforward novel can sometimes be better than an ambitious, but deeply flawed adaptation of an entire epic saga. Fortunately, Bosch creator Michael Connelly knows how to write a truly great straightforward thriller novel. The author has penned more than 44 novels throughout his multi-decade career, 25 of which star the iconic LAPD homicide detective Hieronymus ‘Harry’ Bosch.

Prime Video’s Bosch Is One of The Streaming Era's Best Book-To-TV Adaptation

Image via Everett Collection

It is these books that provided the inspiration for Prime Video’s seven-season hit Bosch, which debuted in February 2014 and ended after 68 episodes in June 2021. While Michael Connelly’s later Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer managed to last five seasons, the Bosch franchise is in a league of its own. Not only did the show spawn three spinoffs, but Bosch also inspired a legion of similar detective dramas in the years since the show began.

Based on Connelly’s novel series of the same name, Bosch follows Titus Welliver’s eponymous irascible homicide detective as he balances investigating murders in the Hollywood Hills with looking into corruption among his fellow officers. Like his novel counterpart, Bosch is a lone wolf who doesn’t work well with others, but his standoffish attitude is justified by just how much corruption his department is home to.

Rather than adapting a specific Bosch book with each new season of the series, as Prime Video’s later action thriller Reacher did with Lee Child’s novel series, Bosch took a more experimental approach. Each outing of Prime Video’s show blended elements from various Bosch books, thus ensuring that even viewers who knew Connelly’s novels well would be surprised by the show’s changes to the source material.

This ingenious approach allowed Bosch to get the best of both worlds as the Prime Video adaptation used the source novels for inspiration, but rearranged their plot details and events in a fresh new way that would surprise even readers who were already familiar with the text. Season 1 alone featured elements of Bosch Book 3, The Concrete Blonde, Book 12, Echo Park, and Book 8, City of Bones.

Bosch also wisely played around with altering character details, further ensuring that the show’s seasons weren’t merely a retread of the books. While ABC’s quirky Karin Slaughter adaptation Will Trent took this approach further, turning one major villain into a heroic supporting star, Bosch instead altered elements of the title character himself. While still frosty and unwilling to suffer fools gladly, Bosch is notably more collaborative and cooperative in the show than in Connelly’s novels.

Bosch’s Franchise Success Highlights The Versatility of Michael Connelly’s Character

Image courtesy of MovieStillsDb

This proved to be a wise change on the part of the show's creators when it came time to expand the Bosch franchise. First, there was the sequel series Bosch: Legacy, which even Welliver himself said was essentially a straightforward continuation of the original show. Then, there was the 2025 spinoff Ballard, starring Maggie Q as Bosch’s colleague Renee Ballard, a detective specializing in cold cases.

Ballard was a big hit with critics, not least because Welliver reprised his role as Bosch in three of season 1’s ten episodes. This granted the spinoff a sense of legitimacy, but it wouldn’t have been possible if Bosch itself hadn’t dropped the character’s extreme isolation from the novels. By introducing some of the cast camaraderie found in The Rookie, the NCIS franchise, and other, lighter, network cop shows, Bosch guaranteed its own future as a franchise.

This even extends to the upcoming prequel Bosch: Start of Watch. Arriving in January 2027, Bosch: Start of Watch is set to star Cameron Monaghan as the young Harry Bosch, and promises to offer yet another fresh perspective on the character. As Welliver is now busy with guest roles in Dark Winds season 4 and The Night Agent season 4, as well as a lead role in the historic crime drama The Westies, the original Bosch star won’t reprise his role for the prequel.

Bosch's Influence Can Be Felt In Numerous Hit Streaming Shows

Credit: MovieStillsDB

Fortunately, if the sprawling streaming reach of the existing Bosch franchise proves anything, it is that the series doesn’t necessarily need any specific star to succeed. While Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone franchise might have the Prime Video series beaten by a title or two, Bosch remains one of the most successful streaming franchises ever. What’s more, every show in the franchise so far has been a critical hit, unlike some larger streaming franchise's spinoffs.

Moreover, in the 12 years since Prime Video’s Connelly adaptation began airing in 2014, Bosch has influenced some of the biggest hits in streaming with its reliable formula. Taking an existing series of bestselling books and turning them into a streaming show with a twisty atmosphere, under 12 episodes per season, and a strong central cast has proven a successful approach many times over.

Reacher, Cross, and Connelly’s own Netflix series, The Lincoln Lawyer, all borrowed this setup, and all became massive hits. Admittedly, Prime Video’s expensive misfire Scarpetta did prove that this approach has its limits when the show arrived earlier in 2026.

Adapted from author Patricia Cornwell’s iconic murder mystery novel series of the same name, Scarpetta seemed like a potential Bosch replacement thanks to its grim tone, its blend of character drama and police procedurals, and the show’s daring decision to mix various Scarpetta books into one dual timeline story. Sadly, Scarpetta instead proved that not every action thriller can match Bosch’s standout acclaim.