Why Mickey Haller Isn't In Bosch Or Bosch: Legacy

Despite playing a prominent role in some of the books, Mickey Haller doesn’t show up in Bosch or Bosch: Legacy for one iron-clad reason. The hit Amazon series Bosch ran from 2014 to 2021, introducing audiences to the titular LAPD detective from the book series by Michael Connelly. Although the show ended in 2021, many of the Bosch characters return in the sequel series Bosch: Legacy, which follows Harry Bosch’s life as a private investigator. Although both shows have incorporated characters from the books, they are missing one key individual who has a close relationship with Harry Bosch – Mickey Haller.

Mickey and Bosch are paternal half-brothers in Michael Connelly’s books, sharing their father, J. Michael Haller, Sr. Their father had an affair with a woman named Majorie Phillips Lowe, resulting in Harry’s birth. Years later, Mickey Sr. had a son called Mickey Jr. with his second wife. After meeting in the book The Brass Verdict, Mickey and Bosch appear numerous times in each other’s series, helping each other with investigations and cases. Despite that, Mickey Haller doesn’t appear in Bosch or Bosch: Legacy because different streaming companies own the rights to the Harry Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer series.

Netflix Has The Rights To The Mickey Haller Character, While Amazon Has The Rights To The Harry Bosch Character

The Bosch Showrunners Couldn't Include Mickey Haller In Any Of Their Shows

Unfortunately, no matter how much the Bosch: Legacy creators might want to include Mickey Haller, they cannot include him because Netflix owns the rights to Mickey Haller and the Lincoln Lawyer books. The same thing applies vice versa. A crossover would require the streaming giants to come to an agreement akin to Spider-Man appearing in the MCU and Sony movies, and those kinds of partnerships just don’t happen often.

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Unlike that situation, Amazon and Netflix are direct competitors, and they don’t have a vested interest in working with each other. The streaming platforms might have felt differently if The Lincoln Lawyer and Bosch came out at the same time, but The Lincoln Lawyer didn’t start to release until after Bosch already ended. By the time Bosch: Legacy came around, it was better for the series to stay separate since Mickey wasn't around for the original Bosch show.

How Bosch & The Lincoln Lawyer Change Their Stories To Avoid Harry Bosch Or Mickey Haller

The Shows Have Written Around The Missing Characters

Both Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer have relied on other characters in the show to fill in the gaps for Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller. The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 introduces Raymond Griggs, who fills in the gaps for the missing character. Meanwhile, Bosch: Legacy season 2 used Honey Chandler in place of Mickey.The Lincoln Lawyer season 4 includes a solution to Bosch’s absence, which arguably relies on Mickey’s half-brother the most out of every book story so far.

Additionally, Bosch: Legacy found a smart way around the issue of character rights without sacrificing Bosch’s character development related to his father. The show included a flashback where he meets his dad and young brother, but they avoid naming the characters. By taking this approach in Bosch: Legacy, Bosch’s family could still impact him without Amazon getting sued.