Ballard had a conflict with her ex-partner Det. Robert Olivas that he won. Banished to the Cold Case squad, she and fellow squad member, formerly retired Reserve Officer Thomas Laffont, close their first case during the prologue, but the messiness leaves them even more in the doghouse. Frankly, Captain Bercham only wants them investigating one case, the unsolved murder of the younger sister of the city councilman Jake Pearlman, who allocated the funds for their department. He clearly thinks Ballard works for him and wants results yesterday. However, Pearlman learns to respect her dedication and instincts when Ballard discovers his sister was murdered by an unknown serial killer.
Naturally, Bercham wants to transfer the case back to Homicide, but Ballard’s team has Pearlman’s confidence and has been running conspicuous circles around her old colleagues. As a further complication, Ballard has another season-long case that she must keep close to her vest: a cold case murder that leads to a cabal of crooked gun-running cops in league with a nasty drug cartel. Besides her team, Ballard only trusts retired Det. Harry Bosch, a sporadic guest-star, who anchors the series to the Bosch-verse.
Titus Welliver’s infrequent but significant appearances are a fun bonus, but Maggie Q more than carries the series as the title character. Frankly, her intensity level might even eclipse Welliver’s and she is almost aa cool. She also comes into the series with massive action cred, which serves her well. Connelly, Alaimo, and the rest of their writers’ room really put Ballard through wringer, but she handles all the angst quite convincingly.
Maggie Q also develops nice chemistry with her team, notably including the recognizable John Carroll Lynch playing it largely straight as Laffont, and Michael Mosley, as reserve officer Ted Rawls, whose stock rises considerably as he earns Ballard’s confidence. Similarly, Noah Bean delivers another memorable supporting turn, navigating the councilman’s surprisingly dramatic arc. Amy Hill probably comes the closest to comic relief as “Tutu,” but the grandmother-granddaughter relationship is appealingly affectionate.
Ballard often pays tribute to the service of police reserve officers, who rarely get any Hollywood love. Maybe Law & Order Reserve will follow. Regardless, there is a lot of grabby procedural stuff that should please fans of other Connelly series (like Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer). Ballard and her team are also very engaging figures who develop tight unit cohesion early and wear well over the course of the season. Plus, Bosch remains quite a character. Honestly, this is exactly the kind of series people want to watch. Highly recommended for Connelly and Maggie Q fans, Ballard starts streaming tomorrow (7/9) on Prime Video.
