The crime series by Harry Bosch’s creator, Michael Connelly, sounds like a major step towards getting a TV show adaptation for one forgotten crossover character. Author Michael Connelly is one of the most prolific modern crime novelists, and he’s the brilliant mind who created the half-brother protagonists Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller.
His Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer books are especially praised for their legal realism. Due to their popularity, numerous Michael Connelly book adaptations have been created. However, for the first time, he will be the subject of the story instead of just the creator.
Michael Connelly’s next TV show, currently possessing the title Untitled Florida Task Force, will focus on his time when he worked as a crime reporter after graduating from the University of Florida, before switching careers. Based on its description, Connelly’s new show will lay the groundwork for fans to finally get a Jack McEvoy TV show.
Michael Connelly's New Series Being Based On His Crime Reporting Is A Good Sign For Jack McEvoy To Get An Adaptation
Michael Connelly at dinner in The Wonderland Massacre
The three major book characters in Michael Connelly’s connected universe are Harry Bosch, a detective; Mickey Haller, a defense attorney; and Jack McEvoy, an investigative journalist who covers crimes. Both Bosch and Mickey have their own TV shows, but Jack McEvoy still hasn’t appeared onscreen. The journalist deserves to get his own TV adaptation, just like the others.
Luckily, Michael Connelly has a new upcoming TV show from Paramount that could lay the groundwork for a Jack McEvoy series. The show will take inspiration from Connelly’s time working as a crime beat reporter at Florida newspapers, including the Sun-Sentinel and the Fort Lauderdale News.
We don’t know which angle the story will take, but it could have a crime reporter as the main character. If the Florida Task Force show does well, it will provide proof of concept that audiences would turn in for a story about a crime reporter.
This would make a Jack McEvoy show more viable to the networks, which would have to invest in it. The only potential downside is that if the Florida Task Force series succeeds, Paramount+ might jump at the opportunity to produce the McEvoy series. In this case, the character wouldn’t be allowed to cross over with Ballard or The Lincoln Lawyer.
Michael Connelly Was Supposed To Adapt A Jack McEvoy Book Back In 2020
The cover of Michael Connelly's Fair Warning shows a bird flying above barbed wire.
Jack McEvoy’s story was previously slated to be adapted into a movie. In 2020, Deadline announced that the studio Compelling Pictures made a deal to produce an adaptation of Fair Warning, the third book in the Jack McEvoy series. Author Michael Connelly was initially slated to write the script, with Denis O’Sullivan, Jeff Kalligheri, and Jeffrey Pollack serving as producers.
However, the movie went into development hell, and it has had zero updates since then. Technically, it hasn’t been cancelled, but it hasn’t moved forward either. As such, it’s a question mark whether this movie will ever get made. Given the five-year time period, it seems pretty unlikely it will go anywhere.
This isn’t the first time that a production company has planned to make a movie, and it falls through. The only good news about it is that this opens up the opportunity for another company to buy the rights and make a Jack McEvoy TV show.
Looking For Alaska is a perfect example of the rights getting purchased, going into development hell, and then eventually becoming a TV show. Fair Warning could go that route too, ideally with Prime Video or Netflix making the show so that there could be crossover episodes with Ballard or The Lincoln Lawyer.
Michael Connelly's Other TV Shows Still Have An Opportunity To Introduce Jack McEvoy
Mickey Haller, played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, smiles while standing in front of his house in The Lincoln Lawyer.
Even if Jack McEvoy doesn’t get his own TV show, there’s still a chance that the investigative crime reporter could appear in Michael Connelly’s other TV shows. Jack McEvoy makes more appearances in the Bosch books, so his appearance in the Bosch spinoff, Ballard, would make complete sense.
At the same time, it seems more advantageous for Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer to jump on the opportunity to introduce Jack McEvoy. While he only has a small role in the already published books, Michael Connelly confirmed that his upcoming book, The Proving Ground, which will release on October 21, 2025, will be the first major crossover between Mickey and Jack.
There’s a good chance the show will choose to skip Resurrection Walk because it heavily features Harry Bosch, and it would be nearly impossible to write around him like in the past. If so, that would make The Proving Ground the foundation of The Lincoln Lawyer season 5, should the show continue.
Ultimately, Jack McEvoy’s introduction in either Ballard or The Lincoln Lawyer could be a good way to test the waters before potentially giving him a series of his own. It would also help the protagonists with their many crime mysteries. Hopefully, Michael Connelly’s Paramount show will provide streamers with the push they need to highlight Jack McEvoy.
