Why Bosch Prequel Start Of Watch Doesn't Need Titus Welliver

1 week ago 15

Published Apr 4, 2026, 11:31 AM EDT

After joining Screen Rant in January 2025, Guy became a Senior Features Writer in March of the same year, and now specializes in features about classic TV shows. With several years' experience writing for and editing TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include a wide range of genres, from comedies, animated series, and crime dramas, to Westerns and political thrillers.

Prime Video’s Bosch franchise is branching out in different directions, with a prequel series fronted by a young Harry Bosch following hot on the heels of Maggie Q’s hit sequel spinoff, Ballard. Later in 2026, Bosch: Start of Watch will be the first franchise release not to feature original lead actor Titus Welliver.

In addition to Bosch: Start of Watch recasting Titus Welliver’s role, the show is breaking with the franchise formula of synthesizing literary source material from novelist Michael Connelly as the basis for its plot. The prequel series is introducing brand-new storylines of its own, although Connelly is supervising its scripts as an executive producer.

Why The Bosch Prequel Shouldn't Include Titus Welliver

Titus Welliver on the phone as Harry Bosch in an episode of Bosch Legacy

During an interview with Screen Rant in March 2026, Titus Welliver gave a definitive update about his involvement in Bosch: Start of Watch. He isn’t involved in the project in any form, either onscreen or off it. The actor is rightly taking a hands-off approach to a show that doesn’t need him.

Titus Welliver’s portrayal of Harry Bosch is the archetypal police-procedural performance of its generation. So pivotal is Welliver’s part in making Bosch the hugely popular and acclaimed franchise it is that he will cast a long, looming shadow over Bosch: Start of Watch, regardless of whether he features in the prequel series himself.

But it’s absolutely crucial that Welliver stays well away from the project, because if he were to appear, even in a small cameo role, it would distract from the plot of this exciting new creative venture. Moreover, the comparisons between Cameron Monaghan and the original Harry Bosch actor will already be, without the two of them also appearing side-by-side onscreen.

Cameron Monaghan Deserves To Be The Only Harry Bosch In Start Of Watch

Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan) looks on outside a house's front door in Shameless

The first on-set photo of Cameron Monaghan as Harry Bosch has already ramped up the level of anticipation for Bosch: Start of Watch. At the same time as drawing on Titus Welliver’s portrayal of the character, Monaghan deserves the chance to make Bosch his own.

More than two decades before the events of Bosch’s first season, the legendary homicide detective would have been a very different person. In Start to Watch, we’ll get to see some of the formative moments in Harry Bosch’s life and career, which help make him who he is in the original series.

It’ll be interesting to watch how Star Wars actor Monaghan gives us a fresh take on such an iconic character, at the same time as paying tribute to his previous TV iterations in the same franchise. Perhaps there are certain parallels to be drawn with Robert De Niro’s portrayal of a young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II.

Could Titus Welliver Return For Another Bosch Show?

While he won’t be appearing in Bosch: Start of Watch, Titus Welliver fans can rest assured that it isn’t the end of the road for the actor’s tenure as Harry Bosch. Welliver will feature in Ballard season 2 later this year, and there’s every chance that he’ll crop up in later seasons of the Prime Video spinoff as well.

Harry Bosch might be officially retired from the LAPD in most of Michael Connelly’s Renée Ballard novels, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to give up his work as a detective altogether. Bosch is an implacable crime obsessive whose gruff personality complements Maggie Q’s Ballard perfectly.

The idea of Bosch: Start of Watch running alongside Ballard, with Titus Welliver playing a recurring role in the latter series, is surely the best scenario imaginable for most fans of the franchise. At the same time, this progression in the development of Bosch’s story-world keeps the integrity of Prime Video’s peerless original series intact.

Created by Eric Overmyer

First TV Show Bosch

Latest TV Show Bosch: Legacy

Upcoming TV Shows Ballard

First Episode Air Date February 6, 2014

Cast Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick, Madison Lintz, Mimi Rogers, Paul Calderon, Jason Gedrick, Sarah Clarke, Jeri Ryan

The Bosch franchise is a critically acclaimed American police procedural series centered on LAPD detective Harry Bosch. Adapted from Michael Connelly's novels, the franchise began with Bosch (2014–2021) on Amazon Prime Video, followed by the sequel series Bosch: Legacy (2022–present) on Amazon Freevee. The franchise is expanding with an upcoming series focusing on Detective Renée Ballard.