Summary
Harry Bosch is finally back after a near 18-month hiatus inBosch: Legacy’s third and final season, which has dropped its first four episodes on Prime Video today. Excitement for the new season has been tapered by Amazon’s abrupt cancelation over six months ago, as they appear to be trying to appeal a younger demographic with theBallardspin-off. Fan favorites,Crate and Barrel, have been confirmed to be making an appearance in theBallardspin-off, but it’s not exactly in a way Bosch fans will be happy with.
Gregory Scott Cummins and Troy Evans have played Crate and Barrel since the originalBoschseries began in 2014, but their roles have been significantly reduced in the spin-off series,Bosch: Legacy.This decision has largely been poorly received by the fans, who love the dynamic duo’s comic relief and excellent detective skills.Their roles intheBallardspin-offshould have been significantly larger as the lead character runs a cold case unit in Michael Connelly’s books, and it’s full of retired detectives like Crate and Barrel.Go figure.
Crate And Barrel Are Confirmed To Be Making An Appearance In The Ballard Spin-Off, But It’s An Insult To Their Characters And The Fans Who Love Them
Crate and Barrel’s rolein Michael Connelly’s books was actually quite limited, but when Eric Overmyer took charge of the television iteration ofBoschback in 2014, he insisted they become an integral part of the series, and it was a great decision. The experienced detectives soon became fan favorites, due to their excellent investigative skills and comedic tendencies, and it’s hard to imagine the Bosch-verse without them. Unfortunately, whenBosch: Legacywas launched in 2022, Crate and Barrel’s presence was vastly reduced, with only two appearances in each of the first two seasons, and the final season is set to feature them even less.Troy Evans recently confirmed in an interview with Game Rantthat the fan favorites would also be making an appearance in theBallardspin-off:
I was only on theBallardset one day. They had us in for one scene. That’s all we had in theBallardseason.
Crate and Barrel’s inclusion inBosch: Legacyisn’t about fan service: theyare integral to the Bosch-verse,as they are the key to explaining who Harry Bosch is. Troy Evans summed it up perfectly:
I have a deep appreciation for Crate and Barrel and what they contributed to that story and, in my mind, it’s this: Everybody loves Harry Bosch, but he’s an obsessive human being. And when he’s on a case, that’s it. He’s going to be focused on that case 24 hours a day until he gets that mother f**k*r. Crate and Barrel are two very good detectives who are still enjoying their lives, and they go home at the end of their shift.
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Crate And Barrel’s Roles Should Have Been Increased In The Ballard Spin-Off Due To Their Retired Detective Status
What I’m told is, they decided to put an interesting twist on it. Instead of retired officers, Renee Ballard has a lot of friends who are younger, and they work on cold cases because that’s the demographic they want. Amazon made it very clear they didn’t want Crate and Barrel.
Crate and Barrel are tailor-made for Renee Ballard’s cold case unit, because they are exactly the type of investigators who formed part ofMitzi Roberts' real life squadthat Connelly’sBallardbooks are based on. The originalBoschseries was very accurate in its portrayal of LAPD investigators, and Troy Evans and Gregory Scott Cummins took this very seriously when crafting the characters of Crate and Barrel.TheBallardspin-off runs the risk of moving away from the authenticity of Connelly’s books as well asBoschandBosch: Legacy, and it’s all in the name of catering to this younger demographic.Michael Connelly stood up to Amazon when they said they didn’t want to shootBoschin Los Angeles. The legendary author insisted on every shot being filmed in Los Angeles to maintain the authenticity of his books, and he needs to stand up to Amazon once again with the representation of the cold case unit in theBallardspin-off.
