Bosch: Start of Watch prequel ordered at MGM+ with Cameron Monaghan, details explored

Bosch: Start of Watch has been given the official series greenlight by MGM+, expanding the Bosch TV universe even further. The new prequel will take us on a journey through the early days of LAPD detective Harry Bosch, back to Los Angeles in 1991, a time of tension, transformation, and turbulence.

The news is finalized that Cameron Monaghan will portray the young Harry Bosch, playing out the detective at 26 years of age as he begins his police career. The Bosch: Start of Watch prequel is the franchise's fourth live-action outing and origin story to the hit detective series based on Michael Connelly's bestsellers.

The premise and timeline of Bosch: Start of Watch

According to Deadline and TheWrap, Bosch: Start of Watch follows a new Harry Bosch in his initial days wearing the uniform for the LAPD. Through these challenging times, Bosch takes on what is described as a "routine patrol" before being drawn into a big-budget burglary and a poisonous conspiracy of corruption.

This focus on Bosch's moral development, in the context of a volatile social landscape, gives the show its historical as well as psychological richness. It implies that it will venture into the inner conflicts that arise when honor is at odds with institutional pressures.

Casting and characters

Cameron Monaghan leads Bosch: Start of Watch as Harry Bosch, in a casting choice front and center through reporting from Deadline, TheWrap, and TVLine. Monaghan had shown up previously in Shameless and Gotham, but now he takes on one of Michael Connelly's most iconic characters, in an era before audiences had ever had the opportunity to see him.

He is accompanied by Omari Hardwick playing Eli Bridges, Bosch's training officer. Bridges is a fresh character, not in the Bosch novels, created specifically for this prequel. The dynamic between Bosch and Bridges will be at the forefront of the show, exploring how institutional pressure and mentorship influence the ethics and behavior of the younger officer.

Behind the camera, the team behind production includes some Bosch franchise staples. Co-creators, writers, and executive producers Tom Bernardo and Brian Anthony are joined by Bernardo, who is also listed as showrunner. Writer Michael Connelly, creator of the Bosch books, is an executive producer, as is Henrik Bastin, Jamie Boscardin Martin, and Jasmine Russ for Fabel Entertainment. Theresa Snider of Hieronymus Pictures is also part of the production team as co-executive producer.

Setting and historical context

The choice of 1991 Los Angeles as a setting is symbolic and intentional. The series is set in a city that has social unrest, rising crime rates, and internal strife in the LAPD.

This setting allows Bosch: Start of Watch to tackle such issues of morality, race, power, and justice in the context of a formative era in history. It's a setting in which Bosch must choose to obey orders or obey his conscience, something that shapes his career later in life.

In contrast to Bosch's previous series, this series jumps into an era that set the tone for modern-day Los Angeles. The show attempts to show the systemic tensions and street-level complexity that influenced Bosch's outlook many years prior to becoming a detective.

How Bosch: Start of Watch fits in the franchise

Bosch: Start of Watch is actually the fourth television show of the expanding Bosch franchise. The series began with Bosch (2014–2021) on Prime Video, followed by Bosch: Legacy on Amazon Freevee, and then expanded with Ballard, focused on Detective Renée Ballard.

This prequel is distinct from its predecessors in that it looks back in time rather than forward. Start of Watch is not directly based on any particular Bosch novel. Instead, it takes its cue from the established character and reimagines him in his formative years as an original tale.

As a result, the series will feature new storylines and characters but remain part of the current Bosch world mythology. Fans can expect tonal continuity with the original series, realistic tone, moral complexity, and procedural correctness, but from the perspective of a newer, rather than older, officer.

Production and release details

Production for Bosch: Start of Watch will begin in 2026, filming primarily in Los Angeles. The show will be exclusively premiered on MGM+, which has completely greenlit the series.

Distribution schedules extend beyond America. These are indicated by TheWrap, where MGM Studios International Television Distribution will oversee rollout in territories like the U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, Latin America, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

As yet, there is no official release date, episode count, or additional casting details that have been announced. Early development does say that production will continue the high cinematic standard seen throughout earlier Bosch episodes, including location-based realism and procedural storytelling in detail.

Challenges and narrative focus

To create a prequel to a popularly set story is a risk and a reward. The riskiest challenge for Bosch: Start of Watch will be maintaining continuity to the Bosch mythology without repeating.

Cameron Monaghan's acting needs to read as the original lead-up to Titus Welliver's Bosch without replicating. While doing this, writers must find a middle ground between fidelity to the early 1990s and current storytelling requirements.

But one more narrative challenge is to confront the social and institutional truths of 1991. The producers have seen that responding to issues of real life, race relations, corruption, and community disturbance, with realism and sensitivity, is important.

By incorporating those realities into a character-driven narrative, Bosch: Start of Watch tries to humanize a period of change, for Bosch himself, and for Los Angeles, the city.

In short, Bosch: Start of Watch is the next installment in the Bosch world, a prequel that goes back to the beginning of one of television's longest-running detectives. Starring Cameron Monaghan, with Omari Hardwick joining to establish a new mentorship dynamic and Michael Connelly continuing as executive producer, the series brings together familiar and new creative voices.

Though the series is still in pre-production, its premise, tone, and creative team have already been established in detail through official materials. Bosch: Start of Watch is not a retelling, but a rediscovery, how Harry Bosch came to understand to see justice as more than a profession, but a calling.