Produced by Amazon Prime Video, the series consists of 10 episodes.
This time, the plot focuses on Renee Ballard, an elite detective from the Major Crimes Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Ballard is portrayed by Asian-American actress Maggie Q. As a representative of mixed-race action stars, she has been captivating global audiences with her sexy and dynamic action sequences, from Naked Weapon and Mission: Impossible III to Nikita.
At 45 years old, her performance in Ballard is still stunning.
The series kicks off with a thrilling chase scene. During the pursuit of a fugitive, her moves are clean and crisp, and the two shots she fires hit right at the hearts of the audience...
Even with her signature thick eyebrows (playfully nicknamed "caterpillar brows"), she can hardly hide her goddess charm...
Here’s the story.
Ballard is ostracized after exposing sexual harassment by a male colleague and gets transferred to the most neglected department in the police station: the Cold Case Unit.
Though it looks like a formal department, it’s essentially a "makeshift team" in practice.
Aside from Ballard, the remaining members are hardly "serious" professionals:
a retired guard brought back from retirement, a full-time housewife curious about investigations, a businessman in private security, and a law school intern.
The only reason this unit remains operational is the support of a city councilor—whose sister Sarah was murdered over 20 years ago. She hopes the Cold Case Unit will prioritize investigating her case.
Thousands of unsolved case files pile up here, yet only the family cases of the leadership manage to get any attention. That’s ironic enough, but what’s even more frustrating is the rampant corruption within the police station.
Ballard discovers an overlooked fingerprint in the evidence of Sarah’s case. After re-examining it using modern DNA technology, a shocking revelation emerges: the culprit left traces in another female murder case.
Even more startling is that the detective in charge of that case back then was the renowned Harry Bosch... and the case files he left behind are suspiciously spotless.
Originally, the prime suspect in Sarah’s case was her ex-boyfriend. The councilor and the police kept a close eye on him for over 20 years but never found crucial evidence.
Now, combining clues from the other female murder case leads to the conclusion that this might be a serial killing.
However, a problem arises: when the victim killed before Sarah was murdered, Sarah’s ex-boyfriend was not in the country, meaning he is not the real culprit...
The only common link between the two victims is their love for theater. Unfortunately, the suspect in the earlier case is already deceased, leaving the investigation at a dead end...
Meanwhile, new clues emerge in a five-year-old "John Doe murder case." The victim was found in the mountains, shot in the head and killed instantly. The culprit remains at large, and the victim’s identity is still unknown.
It wasn’t until recently that newly uncovered surveillance footage showed the "John Doe" holding a baby at a bus stop before his death—but the baby has never been found.
Ballard’s intuition tells her there’s something wrong here.
She tracks down Parker, the detective who handled the case at the time. By then, Parker had long left the police force and was working as a security guard at a bar.
She admits she quit the job after discovering many repulsive practices within the police station, but she had been pursuing the John Doe case until her departure.
With new clues in hand, Ballard persuades Parker to join the Cold Case Unit and reopen the John Doe investigation. However, just as a hotel cleaner is about to provide clues to Parker, she is murdered...
The cleaning ladies at the hotel are all undocumented immigrants. Without legal status, they are completely disregarded.
The police in charge of investigating the shooting are indifferent and slow-moving; it’s Ballard’s team that first identifies the suspect, a homeless man, through surveillance footage.
But the homeless man’s confession is chilling: he was ordered to kill by a blind man!
As the investigation deepens, signs of police inaction and even cover-ups emerge behind all the cases.
A mysterious silver pickup truck has been tailing Ballard, and the driver even flashed a Los Angeles Police Department badge;
during the victim’s autopsy, the lead investigating officer failed to show up;
the key evidence bullet in the "John Doe murder case" was not only unanalyzed but also mysteriously destroyed;
even more terrifyingly, the signature approving the destruction was forged in the name of a retired senior officer...
Unlike the popular "case-of-the-week" format in recent years, Ballard adopts an interwoven dual-storyline narrative：
The first main storyline focuses on solving the councilor’s sister’s murder case and the John Doe case;
the second follows Ballard and her team members’ emotional growth and trauma healing.
Ballard, in particular, stands out as one of the most well-rounded female detective characters in recent American TV dramas.
She is neither a saintly champion of justice nor a cold case-solving machine, but a lone warrior with trauma who still insists on shining a light into the darkness.
Having lost her father as a teenager and endured sexual harassment in middle age, she has grown into a resilient, brave, and resourceful elite detective despite these double blows—truly a compelling female lead.
Additionally, Ballard boldly tackles a series of sensitive issues, such as workplace gender discrimination, systemic corruption, the exposure of women’s privacy, and institutional cover-ups within the police force...
As a spin-off of Bosch, it seamlessly fits into the crime universe. Titus Welliver reprises his role as Harry Bosch in a guest appearance, giving long-time fans something to look forward to...
In summary, Ballard maintains a steady yet engaging pace. The case-solving process is arduous, free from cheap plot twists or formulaic thrills. It requires viewers to patiently follow the protagonist as she unravels the clues, making it one of the most worthwhile detective dramas to watch recently.
If you enjoy this genre, be sure to check it out.
If you enjoy this genre, be sure to check it out.