It’s a good day to be a Bosch and Ballard fan.
According to TV Insider, Prime Video’s spinoff of the police procedural series is likely returning for a second season as the California Film Commission recently gave the show a $14.84 million tax credit. Ballard was one of the 22 productions that received, in total, $256 million in state tax credits, joining the likes of Apple TV+’s The Studio Season 2, Presumed Innocent Season 2, NCIS: Origins, Larry David’s untitled American history sketch comedy for HBO, This is Us creator Dan Fogelman’s new Hulu drama seres and others.
Read on for more about Ballard Season 2 and the California Film Commission’s expanding tax credit program.
Maggie Q has been keeping details surrounding a potential Season 2 renewal under wraps
Fans have been begging for another season since Ballard, which follows Detective Renée Ballard (Maggie Q) as she takes over of the Los Angeles Police Department’s new, underfunded cold case division, wrapped its first season in July. At the time, Q spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the show’s renewal, which she said she was cautiously optimistic.
“I have no sense. This industry is not what it was before. It’s barely recognizable to me, and shows are so expendable. They can throw out a show in two seconds, and it doesn’t make a ton of difference that whole worlds and livelihoods are at stake,” she told the outlet. “Studios always have options. But we have a writers room, and they’ve been writing away.”
Q teased a “very exciting” arc for the second season, but made it clear that cancellations can be swift and happen at anytime.
“I’ve had [a] writers room hired before and then gotten canceled. So everyone’s like, ‘Maggie, of course!’ I’m like, ‘No, no, no.’ There is no ‘of course,'” she said.
The actress also confessed that she hadn’t read reviews of the show.
“I am not a negative person at all. I’m a very positive person, but I’m a realist,” she told the outlet. “They sent me reviews this morning, and I didn’t want to read them. I’m glad they’re positive, but I don’t want to read them.”
Ballard Season 1 was well received from viewers and critics, maintaining a 100% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It garnered more than 2.5 billion viewed minutes in the U.S. from its July release until the end of the month, earning it a spot on Nielsen’s weekly Top 10 list for streaming originals.
California has expanded its tax credits for qualified productions for the first time in a decade
According to Deadline, the tax credit Ballard and other productions received is part of a first round of credits since California expanded its funding for qualified film and television productions. It’s the first time the state has done so in a decade.
“California has long been the entertainment capital of the world — and the newly expanded film and TV tax credit program is keeping it that way,” California Governor Gavin Newsom told Deadline.
He explained, “This program means paychecks for middle-class workers, opportunities for small businesses and investment in communities up and down the state. We’re not just protecting our legacy — we’re reminding the world why the Golden State remains the beating heart of film and television.”
