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Consider it an occupational hazard.

In the new series, “Ballard,” she plays a detective who’s put in charge of the underfunded cold case division of the Los Angeles Police Department. As she pulls back the layers of crime, Renee Ballard uncovers a conspiracy within the department. With the help of volunteers (and retired detective Harry Bosch, from the hit series “Bosch”), she discovers plenty.

“I like justice personally,” Q says prior to the series’ start. “I’ve had several (cold cases) in my life and we don’t know what happened – or we do and the person was never brought to justice. That’s not fun, but I can’t imagine the pressure to bring justice to these families.”

Co-star John Carroll Lynch says detectives who track cold cases often have a sense of longing and loss, too. “One of our technical advisers said he opened up one of the books and found a note inside that said, ‘If you ever find out who did this, call me.’ He had worked the case for a decade and retired while it still was open. That desire for closure was still there. He wanted it closed.”

In the series, Lynch plays a retired police partner who comes back to help Ballard run the department. Unlike Q, Lynch doesn’t have to run through the streets of L.A. or try to subdue suspects.

“Mostly, my action is bringing donuts,” he says with a smile.

Q, however, does get her share of action scenes.

“The action in this series is very organic to cop work – it’s not a Marvel franchise,” she says. “Yeah, it hurts. But it’s grounded in the storytelling. I’ve been in things where action was very gratuitous, and it was the bane of my existence. But this stuff (comes from the story). The stunt coordinator makes it as least painful as possible.”

Already, she says, she hurt her hand, “but it’s stuff you can avoid. I should have pulled it out quicker. When you’re in a scene like that and you’re doing it, the adrenaline is there, right? It’s supposed to be real-life violence that somebody would experience if this thing was happening to them in that moment and you can’t really hold back because the audience will know. That’s the kind of sacrifice you have to make. I come from film, and I give film effort, even in TV, and I think it’s probably my downfall.”

Like Lynch, Courtney Taylor is part of the team helping Ballard solve cases.

The minute she got an audition for the series – a part of the “Bosch” universe – Taylor dug into the Michael Connelly books and was hooked. “He has such a way with creating a world that I felt like I was in it.”

Lynch’s brother is a big fan, too, and “read every Michael Connelly book.”

He asked the “Fargo” actor which role he was going to play and when Lynch told him, he said, “He’s not in the books.”

Now, the three are steeped in the cold case world, eager to figure out whodunnit.

“Detectives, Angela Lansbury – all those people who were just sleuths trying to figure things out I find fascinating,” Q says. “Mystery – I love it, absolutely.”

“Ballard” begins July 9 on Prime Video. It’s the third installment in Connelly’s “Bosch” universe. “Bosch” started the run in 2014. It was followed by “Bosch: Legacy in 2022. And, now, there’s “Ballard.” Titus Welliver, who played Harry Bosch, makes guest appearances in the new series.