EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video has handed a Season 2 renewal to Ballard, Deadline has learned. The cast and crew of Bosch spinoff were informed of the pickup Friday, I hear.
A rep for Amazon MGM Studios, which produces Ballard, declined comment.
The unconfirmed renewal comes almost three months after the 10-episode first season of the series starring Maggie Q was released July 9 as a binge drop. It is not surprising.
The well reviewed show (100% on Rotten Tomatoes) has been a strong performer, generating 2.5B minutes viewed in the U.S. from its July 9 binge release through the end of the month and charting on Nielsen’s weekly Top 10 for streaming originals over several weeks, including a #4 finish with 619M minutes viewed for the week of July 21.
Ballard‘s Season 2 renewal chances were further boosted when the Los Angeles-based series in August was awarded a $14.84M tax credit by the California Film Commission, making its pickup very likely.
Chatter about pending Prime Video renewal decisions heated up last month. They were likely delayed by the recent leadership change, with Peter Friedlander succeeding Vernon Sanders as Head of Global TV for Amazon MGM Studios.
Inspired by the work of bestselling author Michael Connelly, Ballard follows Detective Renée Ballard (Q) as she leads the LAPD’s new and underfunded cold case division, tackling the city’s most challenging long-forgotten crimes. As she peels back layers of crimes spanning decades, including a serial killer’s string of murders and a murdered John Doe, she soon uncovers a dangerous conspiracy within the LAPD. With the help of her volunteer team and retired detective Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver), Detective Ballard navigates personal trauma, professional challenges, and life-threatening dangers to expose the truth.
In addition to Maggie Q, the cast includes Courtney Taylor, Michael Mosley, Rebecca Field, Victoria Moroles, Amy Hill and John Carroll Lynch.
Ballard is executive produced by Connelly, Henrik Bastin, Michael Alaimo, Kendall Sherwood, Trish Hofmann, Jet Wilkinson, and Melissa Aouate. Jasmine Russ serves as co-executive producer under Fabel Entertainment. Jamie Boscardin Martin and Trey Batchelor also serve as co-executive producers. Theresa Snider serves as co-executive producer for Hieronymus Pictures.
