The “Bosch” spinoff premieres Wednesday on Prime Video.
1 of 3 | Maggie Q stars in the new detective drama, “Ballard,” premiering Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Prime Video
Designated Survivor and Nikita actress Maggie Q says her new drama, Ballard, shows how police investigators, as well as family members, may be haunted by crimes where justice has not been served.
“We know that from the detectives who consulted with us,” the 46-year-old actress told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
“This is a very real emotion that they live with every day,” she said. “They’re retired now — the people that we work with — and there’s still things that really bother and nag at them and I think that just goes and owes to the integrity of why these people do what they do and why they’ve dedicated their lives to what they do. In making a show like this, we are really honoring that dedication and showing, truly, what it takes to be a detective in the world that we live in.”
Maggie Q also emphasized that every person matters and is worthy of investigators’ best efforts to give their loved ones closure.
She brings the city's darkest cases to light. #Ballard premieres this Wednesday on @primevideo. pic.twitter.com/2ewW37xqAC— Ballard (@ballardonprime) July 7, 2025
“To let anything go where justice isn’t served feels like a disservice, not just to the community, but to the families,” she added. “[Investigators] give their lives, their souls, everything to this job.”
Based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling novels, the Prime Video series premieres Wednesday with all 10 episodes of Season 1.
The Bosch spinoff follows Maggie Q’s Renee Ballard, an LAPD detective relegated to the cold case squad after her male supervisors deem her a troublemaker, simply because she speaks up for herself.
While Ballard and her team are committed to solving crimes, they are constantly getting pressure from other departments about which cases to prioritize and who they should talk to.
“Oh, God, the bureaucracy that exists in all types of departments is sad,” Maggie Q said.
“It’s sad that people who seek the truth are stopped for very selfish reasons,” she added. “The fight continues, obviously, and our own consultants dealt with that, as well. There’s always a power dynamic and a power struggle in every institution.”
Maggie Q’s heroine was first introduced in the final season of Bosch: Legacy and Titus Welliver, who played the titular private detective on that show, makes a memorable guest appearance on Ballard.
The hit Netflix show, The Lincoln Lawyer, is also based on Connelly’s books.
Maggie Q laughed when asked if she expected Ballard to join this successful streak of TV adaptations of Connelly’s work.
“I’m a fan of Michael Connelly as a human being,” she said.
“I hadn’t really read the books until I was signed on to do [the shows]. It’s very tricky for me with expectations. I very much try to manage them, no matter what the track record,” Maggie Q added. “We just make the best show that we can make and then I just give it to God. There’s nothing else I can do.”
The actress recalled a moment when someone inquired as to whether she was stoked to be starring in the show.
“I’m like, ‘No!’ Because I know exactly how hard it’s going to be and I know exactly the amount of work it’s going to take and am excited about making the show, creatively? Yes!” she said.
“But the reality of what I’m going to have to do from now until the end of this next 4 1/2 four months is massive and, so, I’ll save my excitement until people like it and go from there,” she added. “Now that Bosch is not coming back, we’re solely carrying the universe forward and, so, hopefully, that will fulfill some people.”
The ensemble of Ballard includes Courtney Taylor, John Carroll Lynch, Michael Mosley, Rebecca Field, Victoria Moroles, Amy Hill, Ricardo Chavira, Noah Bean, Alain Uy and Hector Hugo.
