Ingrid Rogers Talks ‘Bosch’ and the Evolution of Hollywood [Exclusive Interview]

Bosch, the police procedural web series by Amazon Studios, follows LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch and, sometimes, the members of his exclusive team as they solve dangerous cases.

The series is written by masters of the craft, captured by striking cinematography, executed by precise directors, and livened by focused actors with wide ranges.

I recently had the chance to speak with stellar actress Ingrid Rogers to give us more details about Bosch, her character, and the evolution of Hollywood.

In regard to Hollywood’s general shifts, Rogers has noticed a pivotal development in the TV industry.

“I think it’s changed so much in the last, probably, 15 years or so. I think television has just gotten so much better,” Rogers began.

“I remember when I first started out; everyone wanted to do film because that’s where all the great scripts were, and the better caliber work. But now television — with cable and HBO and Showtime, all those different cable networks — just the caliber is better and it’s richer. That’s what most of Hollywood is attracted to,” Rogers explained.

“Then, of course, now there’s social media, which is a wild and crazy,” she continued. “I think social media has now changed the industry again in a whole other way. I know actors who get paid a ton — they make actually most of their living from social media more so than doing the craft, per se.”

Rogers then went on to connect how Bosch is a part of this big difference in television and how her experience on the Amazon Original series has been different from previous roles.

“Especially on Bosch and on Murder in the First, which is sadly no longer on the air… it was just a really good group of people like the caliber of work and the caliber of people. They’re just really about the craft and not so much about the other stuff of Hollywood, but just doing good work, like journeymen, meaning that they care about the craft,” Rogers gushed.

“They’re definitely famous but they’re famous for their work as opposed to just being famous,” she noted.

“I think also the way it’s shot. The cinematographers are amazing,” she continued. “They are just so so good. It’s like a film noir type of show and there are shadows, but it’s really rich and beautiful in the way it’s shot. [This is also] from Michael Connelly book series. So, the fact that the show has been adapted from that, and then Michael Connelly’s on set and very hands-on in the whole process of this — I think that also makes it unique.”

Rogers went on to describe what it’s like working with the rest of the cast.

“From Titus Welliver to Jamie Hector to Amy Aquino to Lance Reddick, they’re all really just down to earth people. They’re all the lead guys on the show, and they’re just about the work, which is just super cool,” she said.

However, their focus on their work doesn’t make for a boring set in the least. Rogers fondly remembered a time on set that had everyone laughing.

“It was in one of our dramatic scenes, me and Jamie Hector. On the show, his character’s name is Jerry Edgar, but in the scene, while we’re in the middle of the shooting, I called him Jamie instead of calling him Jerry,” Rogers laughed.

Fingers crossed that scene makes into some blooper reel we can all watch.

Rogers and Hector’s chemistry is definitely one for the books and their scenes have been fantastic. A large part of this is how relatable to authentic their story feels on screen.

Seemingly, this authenticity stems from how relatable the characters are to the actors. In particular, Rogers can completely relate to Latonya.

“A lot of that is just so beautifully laid out by the writers of Bosch. I think it’s just very relatable for me as a woman. I have been a single mother in the past,” she added.

“It’s learning to navigate a relationship with the father of your children. And also in this case with Latonya, Jerry had been shot towards the end of Season 3, so there was a whole other layer of dealing with the mortality of the father of your children.”

“I just use my own life experience in my imagination of what that would be like,” she said.

“I went for a couple of ride-alongs with the Beverly Hills Police Department. Obviously, I’m not playing a cop on the show, but I wanted to… I have played cops in the past, and […] it’s also a very unique experience being married, in a relationship with a cop. So, that was super cool to learn what that’s like,” Rogers admitted.

“If you have a date with your husband or your partner at 8:00 on a Friday night, it’s very possible that they’re not getting home until 6:00 the next morning on Saturday, so it’s not a predictable schedule. Things like that were super interesting. And how does that affect personal relationships, which is a lot of what Latonya and Jerry have had to deal with.”

Rogers also spoke about what she’d like the show to continue exploring in Season 5. Her hope is to see more of Jerry Edgar’s home life and his relationship with his family.

“I think there’s still room to explore what the whole co-parenting experience is and navigating that with someone that you love but may not be the right person for you to be married to,” she said.

“I know this is not a relationship show in that way in the sense that it’s a police drama. It’s a procedural. But they’ve done a beautiful job of layering in, especially in Season 4, this relationship was with Jerry and Latonya. So, it’d be interesting to see just more of that.”

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Be sure to catch Ingrid Rogers on Bosch when it returns for Season 5, and if you haven’t binged it already, you can stream all four seasons on Amazon now.

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