Publications
Partners
The weather is colder, the days a little shorter, the most comfortable place is your couch, and nothing sounds more attractive than a large bowl of popcorn and a piping hot cup of hot chocolate – that’s right! It’s binge-watching season!
Skip flipping through the channels, trying to find the perfect movie or series, and head straight to cop drama Bosch, first and only on Showmax!
Why? Besides the fact that it’s receiving great reviews and buzz - IMDb rates it at 8.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes at 74% and Amazon 4.6/5 - here are the top five reasons we’re adding it to our binge-watch list:
1. It is based on the Michael Connelly books
Renowned American author Michael Connelly wrote the series of detective novels that Bosch is based on. He also serves as a producer on the show, so we know that the ambiance that made the Bosch novels so successful has been accurately brought to life in the series. If you are unfamiliar with Michael Connelly’s work, he also wrote the novel on which 2011’s The Lincoln Lawyer starring Matthew McConaughey was based, and he has appeared in a few episodes of Castle as one of Castle’s poker buddies.
2. Harry Bosch is an intriguing, complex character
Harry Bosch is not your family-friendly fatherly detective. He is gritty, he is tortured, he has been through a lot and he’s not afraid to show it. The show portrays Bosch as a rough, no-nonsense former soldier who is committed to justice and plays no games. It is compelling to watch and feels far more real than the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed detectives that we are used to seeing on television. Connelly said that the goal of the series “is not to show how a detective works on a case but how a case works on a detective.”
3. There are only 10 episodes per season
The problem with most procedural dramas is that there are just too many episodes to keep things interesting, especially if there are overarching cases. But with Bosch, there are only 10 concise episodes per season (and currently four seasons) meaning that the show has just enough playing room to build character relations and telling a compelling story that will make you want to hit “next episode”.
4. It’s an excellent piece of modern film noir
Fans of classic detective mysteries will know the term “film noir”, which pertains to a style or genre of film that is marked by a mood of pessimism or menace. It was made popular in the 1940s and 1950s with film such as The Big Sleep, Chinatown and Double Indemnity. Bosch uses these elements to make this detective series seem almost nostalgic, especially in Season 4. It amplifies the tensions between law enforcement and the law and everything from the camera angles to the score (or lack of it) keeps the viewer constantly on their toes.
5. The stellar cast
Titus Welliver leads the pack in the title role of Harry Bosch. The veteran actor has been cast in every film that Ben Affleck has directed and has also played prominent roles on Lost, Agents of SHIELD and The Good Wife. He portrays Bosch with just the right amount of swagger mixed with gritty heart. Madison Lintz who plays Bosch’s daughter Maddie is another standout performer whose character provides the series with the emotional pull that is needed. Sarah Clarke is also excellent as Bosch’s ex-wife Elinor, as well as The Wire alums Jamie Hector and Lance Reddick. Plus, Star Trek: Voyager’s Jeri Ryan plays an actual femme fatale.
Keep up to date with the mystery by watching all four seasons of Bosch on Showmax, the only place you can watch it in South Africa.
Get a free 14 -day trial if you are a first-time user when you sign up for Showmax, and if you’re a DStv Premium subscriber, get Showmax at no extra cost. Find out how here. DStv Compact subscribers get Showmax for R49. Find out more here.
