Official Successor to Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer Confirmed — And It’s Channeling HBO’s 10/10 Masterpiece
The Lincoln Lawyer may be nearing its final verdict with Season 5, but Michael Connelly’s TV universe isn’t done delivering hits. After Bosch helped launch Prime Video in 2014, a new Connelly adaptation is racing to the docket as the perfect replacement.
Looks like The Lincoln Lawyer might be wrapping things up with Season 5, but David E. Kelley is already lining up a very on-brand follow-up: another Michael Connelly adaptation, this time set on Catalina Island. Different coast vibe, same pulpy, page-turner DNA.
From Bosch and Haller to Stilwell on Catalina
Michael Connelly adaptations have basically become a TV pipeline at this point. Bosch was one of Prime Video 's first big originals, rolling from 2014 to 2021 and spinning off Bosch: Legacy and Ballard. That success absolutely helped Netflix pull the trigger on The Lincoln Lawyer in 2022. Crossovers were a no-go since they're on rival streamers (even though Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller are half-brothers in the books ), but both shows still landed huge audiences, pulling in millions.
The new one: Welcome to Catalina
Per Deadline, Kelley is turning Connelly's 2024 crime novel Nightshade into a procedural for HBO Max called Welcome to Catalina. The hook is clean and classic: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Stilwell gets parked on what should be a sleepy post on Catalina Island, then a body turns up at the bottom of the harbor. Quiet assignment, meet loud problem.
Who's making it ( and why that matters)
Kelley is writing and executive producing through David E. Kelley Productions, with A+E Studios onboard — the same team behind The Lincoln Lawyer. Given Kelley's track record with HBO (Big Little Lies) and a resume that runs from Doogie Howser, M.D. and Ally McBeal to Presumed Innocent and Apple TV 's recent hit, Margot's Got Money Troubles, this has all the right fingerprints.
The format twist streaming actually needs
The plan is to build Welcome to Catalina as a procedural that comes back every year, with longer episode counts and a tighter budget than your usual splashy streamer drama. Reportedly, HBO/HBO Max's approach on The Pitt is the model here. No promises it hits those heights, but getting reliable, yearly seasons instead of 20-month hiatuses? Yes, please.
Fun footnote: second shot at Catalina
Kelley already tried to bring this setting to TV with Avalon, an ABC adaptation of Connelly's short story that introduced Catalina. That one got scrapped. This time, they've got broader runway: Connelly has two Detective Stilwell books so far — Nightshade (2024) and Ironwood (2026 ) — which is enough material to fuel at least a couple of seasons right out of the gate.