Where was Ballard shot? Revisiting key filming locations of the Bosch spin-off

Amazon’s latest crime series follows Detective Renée Ballard as she takes on unsolved cases within the under-resourced LAPD Cold Case Division. Premiering July 9, 2025, the show expands the Bosch universe with a fresh lead, a sun-soaked setting, and a focus on the emotional toll of long-forgotten crimes.

Filmed entirely on location in Los Angeles, the series leans into the authenticity of its setting — from Venice Beach to Malibu’s iconic shoreline — to ground its character-driven narrative. Each episode blends coastal beauty with the gritty realities of police work, making L.A. not just a backdrop, but a dynamic character in its own right.

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1. Venice Beach & Paradise Cove (Malibu)

Principal photography for Ballard began in early July 2024, with the very first scenes captured on location in Venice Beach, where Maggie Q, as Detective, steps onto the sand and surf to kick off her new beat. Later, filming shifted to Paradise Cove Beach in Malibu, famous for its pier and café backdrop.

That setting doubles as Ballard’s refuge from the emotional stress of her cold‑case investigations. While the region was later struck by wildfires; the show preserved its sun‑washed atmosphere, now somewhat of a time capsule.

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2. Westside L.A. Throughout

Show creator Michael Connelly emphasized that the show will avoid shooting east of La Brea, shifting the action firmly to L.A.’s Westside to distinguish it from Bosch's Hollywood‑station scenes. This west‑side identity is woven into the plot: Ballard lives in Malibu; commutes along the scenic coastline, and works out of a cold‑case unit embedded in a sunlit yet fraught area of the city.

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3. Pacific Coast Highway

One of the most recognizable visual motifs in Ballard is the Pacific Coast Highway. Coastal drives appear repeatedly; with the camera picking up sweeping ocean vistas now partially lost to wildfires. Maggie Q noted that these scenes not only offer gorgeous visuals but also a poignant “before” snapshot of landscapes that have since changed.

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4. Real L.A. Cityscapes & No Stages

Connelly and Q made it clear: this show lives and breathes L.A. The production avoided studio-built sets and filmed on location in neighborhoods, parking lots, police precincts, and previously used Bosch locales.

Shooting in the larger city was a deliberate choice “for the integrity of the show”, even as budget constraints and wildfires made filming difficult.

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5. Malibu Beach Home Scenes

Maggie Q shared that Ballard’s home life plays out by the ocean, with scenes in Malibu capturing her daily commute and surfing breaks. The show surfs to decompress, an important character beat that’s tied to her connection with the sea. The contrast between her calm personal spaces and the tense crime scenes adds depth to the story.

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6. LAPD Cold Case HQ

While specific precincts aren’t named, Ballard leads an underfunded cold case unit within the LAPD. Scenes are filmed in actual City of Angels neighborhoods; giving her precinct a lived‑in feel and rooting the series in authentic L.A. surroundings. That helps anchor the procedural elements in recognizable urban spaces.

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Why Ballard's Locations Matter

• Character cohesion: Every scene from Venice Beach to Malibu home feeds into the detective’s journey, reflecting the show's emotional arcs.
• Visual storytelling: The vivid sun‑lit coastline and gritty Westside streets illustrate Los Angeles as both beautiful and dangerous.
• Franchise identity: By staying in huge parts to the Westside and coastal areas, the show differentiates itself from its Bosch predecessors in setting and tone.
• Preserving a changing landscape: The show unintentionally documented sections of L.A. that later changed, making it a bittersweet visual record.

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Production Timeline & Context

• July–November 2024: Filming ran for roughly four months across Venice Beach, Malibu’s Paradise Cove, and various Westside locales.
• July 9, 2025: All ten episodes arrive on Prime Video. Maggie Q reprises Ballard alongside Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver), in a story that blends stand‑alone cold‑case episodes with an overarching conspiracy plot at the LAPD.

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By rooting Ballard in the real streets, beaches, and precincts of Westside L.A., the series does more than set the scene—it deepens the emotional texture of its storytelling. The contrast between sun-soaked coastlines and shadowy cold-case files mirrors Ballard’s own inner tension, giving viewers a detective drama that’s as visually immersive as it is character-driven. In this world, Los Angeles isn’t just where the story happens—it’s why it matters.