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12 Shows Like Bosch to Watch if You Miss Harry Bosch

These other shows are also on the beat

tim.jpg
Tim Surette
Titus Welliver, Bosch: Legacy

Titus Welliver, Bosch: Legacy

Greg Gayne/IMDbTV

Amazon Prime Video's Bosch may not be in season in the flagship series (ended) or its spin-off Bosch: Legacy (between seasons), but that doesn't mean you can't get Bosched with a rewatch or with another show like Bosch. The story of Detective Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver), based on the character from Michael Connelly's books, works so well because it's a proven formula of a tough guy cop who breaks rules to keep the streets safe, but also has a few skeletons in his closet that he's trying to run away from. 

That formula runs in several other shows we've hand-picked for you in case you're looking for something to watch after you finish Bosch. If you can't wait for Bosch: Legacy Season 2 but want some of that Bosch fix right now, check out these shows that feature Bosch's grittiness, sense of place, and strong characters.


More recommendations:


The Lincoln Lawyer

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, The Lincoln Lawyer

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, The Lincoln Lawyer

Lara Solanki/Netflix

Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer are half-brothers, figuratively speaking. They're both based on novel series by Michael Connelly, which makes him one of the parents; the shows' respective creators, Eric Overmeyer and David E. Kelley, are the other. In the books, Harry Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer's Mickey Haller are literally half-brothers; they have the same biological father. That connection is not present in the shows, which are made by competing streaming services. But they are still family, because Michael Connelly writes for both of them and peppers them with his distinct hard-boiled but accessible flavor. The Lincoln Lawyer is a legal drama counterpart to Bosch's cop drama (Bosch's new job makes The Lincoln Lawyer actually more like Bosch: Legacy than original recipe Bosch). Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is a defense attorney who cruises around Los Angeles in the backseat of a chauffeured Lincoln Navigator, working on cases that tie together in unexpected ways over the course of the season. The shared source material makes The Lincoln Lawyer and Bosch feel very similar in terms of storytelling style, though The Lincoln Lawyer is significantly lighter in tone than the gritty Bosch. Unless you straight up don't like legal dramas as much as crime dramas, if you like hanging out with Harry Bosch, you'll get along with his brother. -Liam Mathews


Reacher

Alan Ritchson, Reacher

Alan Ritchson, Reacher

Prime Video

The success of Bosch has encouraged Amazon Prime Video to make more shows in that same vein: Loners who do things their own way and trust a select few, adaptations of books found on the nightstands of dads, and badass dudes who kick some butt. Put a check mark next to all three for Reacher, Prime Video's newest hit series and future franchise. (Prime Video ordered a second season just days of the release of Season 1 and it's been a Top 5 Amazon show since its release in February.) The adaptation of the Lee Child novel stars Alan Ritchson as the former military policeman Jack Reacher as he wanders the country and solves cases using his sharp detective mind and meathook fists. It's a cop show without all the cop rules — Bosch would love that! — because Reacher works as a consultant, so rearranging a few corpses' bones to fit the it in a trunk is on the menu. It's a comfort show for people who like cop shows.


City on a Hill

Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge, City on a Hill

Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge, City on a Hill

Claire Folger/SHOWTIME

Looking for another wayward law enforcement agent in a strong city setting? Showtime's City on a Hill is a gritty crime show set in early 1990s Boston that's similar in tone to Bosch, but with a more antagonistic relationship between its two main characters. Kevin Bacon plays a corrupt FBI agent who uses his power for his own gains, and Aldis Hodge plays the assistant district attorney who reluctantly teams up with him in the first season to put away some armored truck robbers. As their relationship deepens, so do the suspicions. Like Bosch, City on a Hill has throwback cop show vibes.


Bloodlands

James Nesbitt, Bloodlands

James Nesbitt, Bloodlands

Acorn TV

If you need another show about a tough cop who tends to do things off the book and against his authorities yet who you would still trust with your life, check out Acorn TV's import Bloodlands. Heck, star James Nesbitt is essentially the Irish version of Titus Welliver — or, should I say, Titus Welliver is the American James Nesbitt. Nesbitt plays a Northern Ireland homicide detective who opens a cold case of a killer who assassinated some of his colleagues and his wife years ago. Set against the backdrop of a resurgence of violence in Northern Island, it's got the same sense of unique setting that Bosch does.


Longmire

Robert Taylor, Longmire

Robert Taylor, Longmire

You'll look at the dusty landscape of Wyoming in Longmire and think, "This is like Bosch?" But Walt Longmire (Robert Taylor) and Harry Bosch both reign supreme over their own turf in similar ways. Also based on a series of books (these are from author Craig Johnson), Longmire follows a sheriff who does things his way because it's the right way while also dealing with a murky past that may or may not involve some murder. Sound familiar? But most of Longmire is about cracking cases unique to the area, which includes the tension between whites and Native Americans, drug runners, and more. Six seasons are on Netflix, so this will occupy some time.


Ray Donovan

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Jeff Neumann, Jeff Neumann/SHOWTIME

Like Harry Bosch, the titular character of this Showtime drama has some major problems both in and out of his work. Unlike Bosch, Ray Donovan (Liev Schreiber) isn't a cop; he's a fixer for Hollywood's elite, meaning that if you have the money, he'll make your troubles — whether they be dead prostitutes in your bed or a blackmailer threatening to out your sexuality — disappear. The show is also set in the underbelly of Los Angeles, and it really feels like Ray Donovan and Bosch could exist in the same universe. Time to write the crossover episode.


Luther

Idris Elba, Luther

Idris Elba, Luther

Des Willie/BBCAmerica

The British crime drama Luther is famous for bringing Idris Elba into the spotlight he deserves. Like Bosch, Luther is dark, but Luther takes it another step further by pitting John Luther against a series-long antagonist in Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), who becomes more than a mouse in their game of cat-and-mouse. And because it's British, seasons will be shorter than even Bosch's 10-episode seasons; over five seasons, Luther has racked up only 20 episodes.


The Wire

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The Wire

HBO

If you've watched Bosch but have somehow missed out on watching The Wire, then please don't talk to me until you have. The Wire is considered one of the greatest shows of all time, showing an unfiltered, raw side of police work that's reminiscent of Bosch's take on the boys in blue. But The Wire spends as much time on the other side of the law as it does the cops, following the intricate web of Baltimore's criminal gangs to create a Dickensian tapestry of an entire ecosystem. Plus, Bosch's Lance Reddick and Jamie Hector both got their break in The Wire in major roles. 


Line of Duty

Martin Compston, Line of Duty

Martin Compston, Line of Duty

Acorn TV

Intense. That's the best way to describe this heat-seeking missile of a crime drama from England. Created by Jed Mercurio, who gave us the equally ventricle-bursting Bodyguard, Line of Duty follows officers in the anti-corruption unit as they sniff out bad cops inside the police force. Using handheld cams and a pulsing score, Line of Duty never lets its audience rest easy, and frequently pulls the rug from under them with big twists and cliffhangers.


Broadchurch

David Tennant, Olivia Colman, Broadchurch

David Tennant, Olivia Colman, Broadchurch

COLIN HUTTON

One of television's most lauded crime dramas, Broadchurch, like Bosch, benefits from award-worthy performances and a deep, detailed murder case. David Tennant and Olivia Colman play two detectives investigating the murder of an 11-year-old boy, as the toll from the boy's death eats at the heart of the small coastal town of Dorset in the United Kingdom. It can be taxing on the emotions at times, but it's impeccably written and shot.


Southland

Benjamin McKenzie, Southland

Benjamin McKenzie, Southland

TNT

If you're looking for more stories of cops in Los Angeles, the underrated Southland is the best police show set in the City of Angels since The Shield. While more of an ensemble character drama than Bosch, which has a lot of characters but puts most of the focus on Harry, Southland does a spectacular job of fleshing out all of its cops and their problems both in and out of the force. The acting is spectacular all around, but Regina King is particularly notable in her first major dramatic television role that would open the door for many memorable roles to come.


Cardinal

Karine Vanasse and Billy Campbell, Cardinal

Karine Vanasse and Billy Campbell, Cardinal

Cardinal's John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) has a lot in common with Bosch's Harry Bosch. First, they're both the main characters in shows titled after their last names and based on books. Second, they're both great homicide detectives with a knack for solving crimes. But most eerily, they're both actively working murder cases for the police while also being actively investigated themselves for crimes (Bosch for wrongful death, Cardinal for having ties to a local drug dealer). After that, the two shows diverge as Cardinal trades Bosch's sunny and grimy Los Angeles for the snow-blanketed, desolate tundra of central Canada, and whereas Bosch is more of a lone wolf, Cardinal is assisted by a young partner — who happens to be the one secretly investigating him.