Eric Overmyer, a veteran TV writer and producer who created Bosch and worked on high-profile series like The Wire and Law & Order, has died.
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The 74-year-old passed away on March 16 following an illness, according to Deadline.
According to IMDb, Overmyer started his television career as a writer on St. Elsewhere. Following several short-term roles on different TV series, he joined the fourth season of NBC’s crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street in 1996.
Overmyer remained with the series for four years, through its seventh and final season. He also co-wrote and executive-produced the follow-up film, Homicide: The Movie. During his time on the show, Overmyer worked with writer-producer David Simon, on whose book the series was based.
RIP to playwright/writer/producer Eric Overmyer. His work included St. Elsewhere, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Wire & Boardwalk Empire. Co-creator of Treme and Creator of the television series Bosch. Eric passed away on Monday. 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/E1LHAtIVEa
— Ziggy_Sobotka (@Ziggys_Duck) March 18, 2026
Overmyer later joined Simon as a writer for the fourth season of his acclaimed HBO drama The Wire. The pair later co-created and executive-produced the post-Katrina HBO drama Treme, which was partly based on Overmyer’s experience living in New Orleans.
Eric Overmyer Develops His Signature TV Series
Most recently, Overmyer developed and executive-produced Bosch for television, an adaptation of Michael Connelly’s novels. He served as showrunner on the police drama, which starred Titus Welliver and became Prime Video’s longest-running series at seven seasons. Overmyer also co-created and executive-produced the spinoff, Bosch: Legacy, which ran for three seasons and also starred Welliver.
Overmyer’s other credits include a four-season run on NBC’s Law & Order, where he served as an executive producer. He also worked on Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Additionally, he co-wrote the 1998 ABC movie Rear Window starring Christopher Reeve and the 2016 National Geographic miniseries Saints & Strangers.
Overmyer earned four Emmy nominations, five WGA Award nominations, and a Humanitas Prize for his work. He won a WGA Award in 2016 for Saints & Strangers.
In addition to his TV career, Overmyer was a prolific playwright for Off-Broadway and regional theater. His stage credits include well-received productions like On the Verge, In a Pig’s Valise, Mi Vida Loca, The Heliotrope Bouquet, and Dark Rapture. He also contributed to the Broadway musical The Green Bird.