Amazon’s Best Detective Franchise Is So Good, It Already Has 4 Shows

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As a fan of action thrillers, I have to say Prime Video is really delivering. This particular detective series, which first hit screens in 2014, clearly struck a chord with audiences – it’s already expanded into sequels, spin-offs, and even a prequel! While Netflix has The Night Agent and Apple TV+ has Hostage, Prime Video still feels like the go-to place for this kind of intense entertainment. They’ve built a real powerhouse with shows like Reacher, The Terminal List, and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and this detective franchise is right up there with the best of them – it’s been a huge hit for nearly twenty years now.

With the rise in popularity of big-budget action thrillers like Reacher and international spy shows such as Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, it would have been simple for classic detective shows to become outdated. Because these cop shows are typically less expensive and common on network television, they’ve had to change and improve to stay interesting in the age of streaming. One series on Prime Video has done this better than any other.

Prime Video’s Bosch is a hugely popular crime drama with seven seasons and 68 episodes. It has also expanded into a whole universe of shows! A sequel series has already been renewed for another season, and a prequel called Bosch: Start of Watch is on the way. Based on Michael Connelly’s novels, the original Bosch series followed Harry Bosch, a homicide detective working in the Hollywood Hills, as he solved complex murder cases. His investigations were often made more difficult by corruption within the LAPD and his own personal struggles.

The Bosch Franchise Has Two Original Shows A Spinoff And A Prequel

Although the initial Bosch series received high praise, it’s the show’s expanding universe that really sets it apart. With Bosch: Legacy, the spin-off Ballard, and the upcoming Start of Watch, it’s clear the show found a winning formula. This has breathed new life into the classic detective show format for a modern audience. Interestingly, Bosch didn’t radically change the genre; it simply executed it exceptionally well.

Before the show Bosch came out in 2014, detective dramas were at a crossroads. While established series like CSI, Criminal Minds, and Law & Order: SVU still had loyal viewers, groundbreaking shows like The Wire and The Shield had changed the game by offering a more realistic and critical look at police work. Newer shows had to find a way to include this level of depth into their more traditional storylines. This led to some successes, like the first season of True Detective, but also some failures, such as the overly grim Low Winter Sun.

Bosch’s Detective Show Formula Allows The Franchise To Keep Growing

When it came to new detective shows in the 2010s, Bosch quickly became a standout success. It managed to combine the grittiness and mature themes allowed by streaming services with the familiar, classic structure of a police procedural. Essentially, Bosch felt like a more adult version of shows like Law & Order or CSI, offering a straightforward crime story rather than a complex, deconstructed take on the genre like Mindhunter or Mare of Easttown.

As a big fan of detective shows, I remember the 2010s being a really interesting, but uneven, time for the genre. So many shows tried to do something completely new, and while some, like the first season of True Detective, Hannibal, and Mindhunter, really hit the mark, a lot more just didn’t work. For every success story, there were tons of shows—like Backstrom or the second season of True Detective—that quickly faded away. It felt like everyone was trying to reinvent the wheel, and not always successfully.

Building on the successful formula of classic detective shows, Bosch delivered a sophisticated and compelling drama that became one of the best of the 2010s, and has continued with three follow-up series. While other shows like The Sinner and True Detective experimented with new approaches, Prime Video’s Bosch franchise found lasting success by mastering the traditional detective format.

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2026-05-27 21:38