Omari Hardwick Steps Into Police Uniform for MGM+ Prequel 'Bosch: Start of Watch'

Veteran actor Omari Hardwick is stepping into law enforcement for his next major television role, starring as seasoned police officer Eli Bridges in the upcoming prequel series "Bosch: Start of Watch." According to reporting by AllHipHop and initial details from JoBlo, network platform MGM+ has slated the crime drama for a premiere on January 10, 2027, releasing official first-look images ahead of the winter rollout. The new series pairs Hardwick opposite Cameron Monaghan, who takes on the title role of rookie officer Harry Bosch during his early formative years on the police force.

The eight-episode inaugural season drops its first two installments on January 10, followed by subsequent episodes arriving weekly until the finale on February 21, AllHipHop reported. Set against the turbulent backdrop of Los Angeles in 1992, the storyline centers on standard street patrol assignments, a complex heist, and systemic police corruption. For Hardwick, stepping into the uniform of Eli Bridges marks a notable pivot to the opposite side of the legal system following his iconic run as James "Ghost" St. Patrick on the hit Starz drama "Power."

AllHipHop noted that it initially covered Hardwick's casting as the lead in "Power" back in 2013. In that landmark series created and run by Courtney Kemp Agboh and executive produced by 50 Cent, Hardwick portrayed a conflicted nightclub owner navigating an illicit narcotics empire while striving toward legitimacy. Hardwick approached the craft with deep dedication; during a 2017 interview on "Live! with Kelly and Ryan" covered by AllHipHop, the actor revealed he spent two or three nights locked inside a jail facility with assistance from a warden and a producer to prepare for his character's imprisonment in season four.

Hardwick shared that listening to fellow inmates at night while writing and recording music allowed him to experience an unprecedented level of creative openness in his acting career.

The new MGM+ production expands the expansive television universe adapted from author Michael Connelly's bestselling detective literature. Actor Titus Welliver previously embodied the veteran sleuth across seven seasons of the flagship "Bosch" series and three seasons of its follow-up, "Bosch: Legacy." While Connelly introduced the literary character in his 1992 debut novel "The Black Echo," the author explained to Kirkus that "Bosch: Start of Watch" allowed him to invent entirely fresh storylines exploring an unwritten phase of Bosch's life rather than directly adapting published pages.

Connelly, who serves as an executive producer on the project, brings personal historical insight to the 1992 Los Angeles setting from his earlier career as a local newspaper reporter. The author recounted to Kirkus that 1992 stood out as an era marked by widespread injustice and civic rebellion where acts of integrity frequently went overlooked, providing a complex environment for Hardwick's veteran mentor to guide young Bosch.