The Lincoln Lawyer and Bosch Author’s Other Bestseller Is Finally Becoming a TV Series

Michael Connelly – the man’s a machine when it comes to crime novels getting snapped up for telly, isn’t he? If you’ve read Bosch or The Lincoln Lawyer (or, frankly, just watched the shows), you’ll know his stuff turns into screen gold more often than not. This time, it’s his brand new 2024 book Nightshade getting the adaptation treatment – but with a new name, and a bit of a TV pedigree to match.

Welcome to Catalina: What We Know

The show’s picked up the working title Welcome to Catalina, and is currently in the works at HBO Max. There’s no airdate yet; they’re still busy in the development trenches. If you’re getting déjà vu, yes, it’s David E. Kelley again, the Emmy-hoarding writer who just can’t seem to stay away from Connelly’s writing. He’ll be both scripting and executive producing, with Connelly himself getting hands-on behind the scenes.

Here’s how the structure’s set up:

• David E. Kelley (creator of The Lincoln Lawyer adaptation for Netflix, to jog your memory) writes and exec produces.
• Michael Connelly is on board as an exec producer, too.
• The rest of the exec producer team includes Matt Tinker, Barry Jossen, Tana Jamieson, and Ross Fineman.
• It’s an HBO Max show, but they’re working with A+E Studios as well.

The Plot: Not Your Typical Island Getaway

The main character, Detective Stilwell, used to work as a Los Angeles County Sheriff investigator – properly gritty, high-stakes stuff. Then, career curveball: he’s reassigned to the supposedly sleepy Catalina Island, where his cases are mostly pub brawls and noise complaints. That is, until someone turns up very much dead and stashed beneath the harbour. Suddenly, this chilled-out posting is looking a bit more like a trip into the underbelly of paradise, as Stilwell starts peeling back the island’s rather darker secrets.

Why David E. Kelley, Again?

If you’re thinking this pairing sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Not only did Kelley bring The Lincoln Lawyer to Netflix, but he’d actually had a previous go at adapting another Connelly piece – a short story called Avalon, also set on Catalina Island. That version was being shopped around at ABC, but never quite got off the starting blocks. Seems like Kelley’s intent on cracking the Catalina code, and this time, the plan is to build Welcome to Catalina into HBO Max’s growing roster of crime dramas – the sort with longer seasons, a bit of financial savvy, and (hopefully) some juicy new mysteries.

A Quote to Set the Mood

'The discovery of a body hidden under the harbor quickly draws (Stilwell) into a much larger investigation that begins exposing darker secrets related to the island.'

More details will trickle out as the show edges closer to a full greenlight and casting, but that’s the latest on what might be your next moody procedural obsession.