Viewers might be unaware that the wildly popular Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer television franchises share an interesting connection. Both shows are based on the bestselling novel series created by Michael Connelly, but it gets even more interesting. In Connelly’s books, Hieronymous “Harry” Bosch (Titus Welliver) and J. Michael “Mickey” Haller Jr. (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) are, in fact, biological brothers. In other words, the characters are in a shared universe! Unfortunately, the hit television shows based on Connelly’s books cannot cross over since their shows are produced by different studios set up on different streaming platforms.
Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller Share the Same Father in Michael Connelly’s Books
In Connelly’s books, both Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller are sons of J. Michael “Mickey” Haller, Sr. Bosch is the product of an affair between Michael Haller and Bosch’s mother, Marjorie Phillips Lowe, who was a sex worker. Mickey was born sometime later after Michael Haller married a Mexican actress, Elena (Angélica María), in the Netflix series.
Mickey Haller would not learn about his long-lost half-brother until Connelly’s book, The Brass Verdict, was published in 2008. Bosch and Haller meet for the first time in the novel when Bosch investigates the murder of one of Haller’s former colleagues. By the end of the book, Haller ultimately deduces that Bosch is his half-brother. By the time they finally meet in the books, Bosch has already learned about Mickey’s existence and their shared DNA. Michael Haller Sr. was not a part of Bosch’s life in his youth, and he also died when Mickey was only five years old, so Mickey didn’t have much of a relationship with his father either.
Harry Bosch Meets His Dad and Half-Brother in Season 1 of ‘Bosch: Legacy’
Interestingly, Bosch: Legacy Episode 8, “Bloodline,” features a flashback scene where a young Harry Bosch (Welliver’s son Eamonn Welliver) meets his dad, credited only as “Father,” and portrayed by Clint Jordan. The scene avoids any references to The Lincoln Lawyer or Mickey Haller books by not mentioning the Hallers’ names. However, Bosch’s biological father is a lawyer, just like Mickey Haller Sr. in the novels.
Bosch also meets his younger half-brother in the scene, who amusingly evokes one of the iconic catchphrases of actor Matthew McConaughey, saying, “Alright, alright, alright.” McConaughey portrayed the role of Mickey Haller Jr. in the 2011 theatrical adaptation of Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer. While the names and references are removed, fans can playfully imagine that Bosch meets Mickey Haller Sr. and Junior for the first time in this scene.
‘Bosch’ and ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Are Unlikely to Ever Cross Over
While Bosch and Haller cross over and interact in their respective books written by author Connelly, the same cannot be said for their popular TV shows. For example, Bosch: Legacy Season 2 is based on the 2015 novel, The Crossing. Mickey Haller appears in the novel, but all of his parts from The Crossing had to be removed or reappropriated to other characters in adapting the book to the live-action television series. The problem is that the Bosch television franchise is co-produced and set up at Amazon MGM Studios, streaming on Prime Video and Freevee, and The Lincoln Lawyer is on Netflix. That makes a potential television crossover between the two popular franchises virtually impossible.
Meanwhile, any time Bosch appears in Mickey Haller’s books adapted for The Lincoln Lawyer television series, the writers must figure out workarounds for not using the grizzled detective. As The Lincoln Lawyer co-showrunner Dailyn Rodriguez explained to TV Insider, “We can’t really use that character [Harry Bosch]. They can’t use [Mickey]. It’s unfortunate. So we try and figure out ways to do those storylines with other characters.”
However, co-showrunner Ted Humphrey, in the same interview, pointed out the Marvel Studios release, Deadpool & Wolverine, as an example of how it could someday be possible: “I just saw Deadpool & Wolverine, and those were two characters that couldn’t cross.” However, Humphrey noted that such an event would require collaboration between Netflix and Amazon, stating, “Unless they figure out some way for Netflix and Amazon to join forces… I guess you’d never say never, but at the moment it would seem impossible, yes.”
The likelihood of a crossover event seems close to nil, but the mutants and X-Men eventually joined the MCU to deliver Deadpool & Wolverine, so fans should not forever rule out the possibility. Nevertheless, it’s fun to think about the idea of Welliver appearing on The Lincoln Lawyer, or Garcia-Rulfo on Bosch: Legacy.
