Ballard

 

 

After a woman speaks her truth. . . she then pays the price on “Ballard” the newest police procedural Netflix series based on the novels by Michael Connelly and starring Maggie Q.

 About the Series: The once hotshot homicide detective for the LAPD, Renée Ballard, watches her career go up in smoke after she accuses a high-ranking officer of sexual assault. Because she refuses to go along to get along, the rapist-cop pulls a few strings and gets Renee exiled to the Cold Case Squad. Working as the only sworn officer she leads a ragtag group of retired, future, and wannabe reserve officers, while attacking, literally, boxes of unsolved cases. In the process if solving more than a few cases, they turn up a serial killer.

Our Review: The ten-episode binge worthy series will surely raise anyone’s conscience while watching Ballard and her team navigate their way through the system—all in the name of helping families of the dead or presumed dead. Some just want a body to bury; others don’t know if their loved one might still be alive; while others, of course, want justice. Then, there’s the issue of multiple unsolved homicides—whose victims are all persons of color—where police response might have been less than . . .average.

The higher ups are relentless in holding Ballard’s ‘transgression’ over her head, offering non-verbal promises of no support for her team’s work at solving the unsolvable. All because she refuses to back down from the age old chauvinist mantra: “an accusation like that can ruin a good man’s career”. She’s not about to retract, bury, nor forget anything. And then. . . the newest member of the squad discloses she too was victimized by the same ranking officer. Ding Ding Ding.

          The action is non-stop; twists and turns abound; and just when the viewer thinks Ballard has everything wrapped up neat and tidy—the feces hits the fan. This one’s a beauty.

 Based on a scale of 1-5, Ballard merits a 9.

 Veronica Lynch, Wild Women Reviews