Michael Connelly’s veteran detective Harry Bosch is making a sensational return to television after a prequel series was announced.

Fans of Bosch and Bosch: Legacy were devastated when Amazon Prime cancelled the long-running show, based on Connelly’s bestselling thrillers and starring Titus Welliver as the veteran LA detective and, after its tenth series earlier this year. Now they can look forward to Bosch: Start of Watch, from MGM+ Studios, starring Cameron Monaghan as the 26-year-old rookie cop and exploring his ‘origin story’.

It’s another spin-off from what Connelly, 69, jokingly referred to as the “MC Universe” speaking with the Express last year. Omari Hardwick will play Bosch’s training officer, Vietnam veteran Eli Bridges, a new character not in the books, a seasoned, rough-around-the-edges kind of cop who mentors the young patrolman.

Connelly introduced Bosch, already a veteran detective, in his debut novel, 1992’s The Black Echo, so apart from the odd mention of Harry’s early years here and there, there is no definitive prequel story. Connelly called the new show “uncharted character territory”.

According to Deadline, the series will “explore a city on the edge, teeming with racial tension, gang violence, and a fractured LAPD. Amid routine calls and growing unrest, Bosch finds himself drawn into a high-profile heist and a web of criminal corruption that will test his loyalty to the badge and shape his future as the detective who lives by the code, ‘Everybody counts or nobody counts’.”

“I’m deeply grateful to Michael Wright and the team at MGM+ for championing this next chapter in Bosch’s journey with such remarkable care and integrity,” Connelly said. “Being able to see how Harry Bosch became the man we have loved for 10 seasons is a gift to me and his many fans. I can’t wait to dig in with Cameron and the writers to explore this uncharted character territory.”

In Bosch: Start of Watch, Bosch is a probationary patrol officer with the LAPD possessing many of the qualities that will come to mark his legendary career – he’s smart, relentless, determined and fiercely protective of the victims of crime.

“We are thrilled to expand the Bosch universe with this compelling origin story that showcases how one of television’s most beloved detectives became the man we know today,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+.

“With Cameron Monaghan and Omari Hardwick bringing these complex characters to life, and the creative vision of Michael Connelly and our talented executive producers, Bosch: Start of Watch promises to deliver the gritty, authentic storytelling that honours the franchise’s legacy while opening an exciting new chapter.”

This marks the fourth series in the Bosch franchise and third centred on Harry Bosch. All three originated on different Amazon platforms. A second season of Ballard, based on another popular Connelly character, Renée Ballard and starring Maggie Q, was given the go ahead earlier this month.

Connelly, whose Lincoln Lawyer series runs on Netflix, has just published his 41st novel, The Proving Ground.