The Bosch Start of Watch prequel is officially coming to MGM+, and longtime fans are paying attention. Cameron Monaghan, known for Shameless and Gotham, will take on the role of a 26-year-old Harry Bosch. Omari Hardwick, best known from Power, will appear as Eli Bridges, a mentor figure who shapes Bosch’s earliest steps in the LAPD.
For audiences who spent years with Titus Welliver’s older, battle-hardened Bosch in Bosch and Bosch: Legacy, this is a glimpse into where it all began.
What the Bosch Start of Watch Prequel Will Explore
The series is set in Los Angeles in 1991, a city weighed down by crime, racial tension, and mistrust of the police. Bosch is introduced as a rookie pulled into a high-profile heist case, challenging his instincts and forcing him to decide what kind of cop he wants to be.
Hardwick’s character, Eli Bridges, isn’t drawn from Michael Connelly’s novels. He’s described as Bosch’s training officer and a father figure, someone who provides guidance when the apartment itself is under scrutiny. This choice signals that writers aren’t simply repeating Bosch’s backstory but expanding upon it, blending Connelly’s world with fresh storyline to highlight how the detective was formed.
From Titus Welliver to Cameron Monaghan
For over a decade, Titus Welliver defined Harry Bosch on screen. His version of the character was older, deeply principled, and often cynical. Monaghan now has the task of portraying a Bosch who hasn’t developed those layers yet. He’ll need to show the rawness of a young cop making mistakes and learning from them while still capturing the qualities that will eventually define the man that fans came to love.
Michael Connelly is executive producing alongside Tom Bernando and Brian Anthony, both veterans of the Bosch franchise. Their presence behind the scenes should ensure that the tone feels consistent, even as the character shifts to a new era and new actor.
The Expanding Bosch Universe
The Bosch Start of Watch prequel isn’t a standalone experiment. It continues a franchise that’s been growing since 2014, when the original Bosch debuted. Bosch: Legacy is concluding after three seasons in 2025, and a Ballard spinoff starring Maggie Q. By moving backward in the timeline, MGM+ shows that Bosch’s story can grow in both directions, filling in the past while creating space for future characters to take the lead.
Setting the series in 1991 gives the writers a vivid historical backdrop. This was a time when Los Angeles was defined by unrest, strained community relationships, and an LAPD struggling with accountability. These elements are a lens through which viewers can understand how Bosch’s values and distrust of authority were forged.
An Exciting Venture for Bosch Fans
What makes this project exciting isn’t the promise of another case to solve but the chance to watch Bosch’s entire identity take shape. Fans already know the detective who lives by the motto “Everybody counts or nobody counts.” The prequel offers the opportunity to see how that code was written into him.
Was it the mentors he followed? What about the times he lived in? Did he become the detective he is because of the choices he made under pressure? Likely, all of the above, and that complexity is what makes the idea worth exploring.
The Bosch Start of Watch prequel will also be a hefty dose of nostalgia for familiar characters, but that’s not all the show will be about. It’s about seeing the moral foundation of one of television’s most enduring detectives being laid brick by brick. If the creative team can balance loyalty to the source material with the freedom to tell new stories, the prequel could become a highlight of the entire franchise.