2026 has already given us quite a few highly-acclaimed and commercially successful detective thrillers. Among all of them, however, only one seems to come close to being the perfect Bosch replacement. Considering how the main Bosch series lasted for seven seasons and never dipped in quality, it would be unfair to call any crime thriller its worthy successor in the genre.
However, after just one season, Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole on Netflix has shown so much potential that it is hard not to see how it could become the next Bosch. One of the most intriguing parallels between Bosch and Detective Hole is that both feature detective protagonists with the same first name, Harry. While this similarity seems purely coincidental, both shows riff on many familiar tropes of the genre.
In terms of the overarching tone of their storytelling, Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is far darker than Bosch. There are moments when it seems reminiscent of bleak detective thrillers like True Detective. However, many core story beats that drive its main detective character’s narrative often remind one of Titus Welliver’s Harry Bosch.
Why Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole On Netflix Is The Closest Thing To A Bosch Replacement
Played by Tobias Santelmann, Detective Harry Hole in the Netflix crime thriller is forced to operate well within the legal system. However, like Harry Bosch, Hole feels deeply isolated by the people around him and often has an unhealthy obsession with the crimes he sets out to solve. Similar to Bosch, he is stubborn and follows his own moral compass instead of following orders from superiors.
Even his relationship with his loved ones seems deeply tainted and his commitment to his job often gets in the way of maintaining meaningful connections with the people who matter most to him.
Apart from featuring similar protagonists, Bosch and Detective Hole also do an incredible job of making full-fledged characters out of their primary settings. Los Angeles almost becomes a breathing, living person as Bosch explores everything from its sun-soaked suburbs to lively jazz clubs. Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole achieves something similar with its Oslo setting as it slowly unravels the Norwegian capital’s rain-slicked underbelly.
Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole‘s inclination towards the gritty theatricality of Nordic Noir and supernatural undertones establish it is not merely an emulation of Bosch’s formula. It also introduces another morally skewed detective character, Tom Waaler, who is brilliantly portrayed by Joel Kinnaman and serves as the protagonist’s rival.
However, despite these few deviations, Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole seems to scratch the same itch as Prime Video’s Bosch. Since it only has one season so far, calling it a perfect Bosch replacement already would be a stretch. It would be fair to say, though, that it fills the void Bosch left behind in the crime thriller genre.
Detective Hole’s Bosch Comparison Proves It Deserves More Seasons
Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole on Netflix is, by no means, a perfect crime thriller. Despite having a fair share of flaws, however, it is being compared with some of the best additions to the genre, like Reacher, True Detective, and Bosch. These comparisons alone highlight the potential it holds if it gets to return after season 1 and adapt more books from its original series.
Speaking of the original Detective Harry Hole books written by Jo Nesbø, there are already over ten installments in the series. The Netflix show adapts the fifth one, The Devil’s Star, leaving it with many more novels to draw from if it returns with more seasons. Unfortunately, as of now, there have been no concrete updates about the show’s return.
If it does, though, it can tread the same path as Prime Video’s Reacher and pick one original book per season. The Netflix crime thriller heavily benefits from the fact that Jo Nesbø himself serves as its main writer. Hopefully, things will fall into place for the show, and it will eventually get the opportunity to last as long as Prime Video’s Bosch.
