Banshee – Season 1 to 3

I got drawn into this as the show that Antony Starr (of The Boys) headed up previously, and was taken by the premise – a hardened criminal is released from prison, heads to the sleepy Pennsylvania town where his ex-girlfriend now lives, and following a rumble in a bar ends up assuming the identity of the new Sheriff. A background cast includes the town police force, an evil controlling businessman (from an Amish background) and his sexed-up niece, and a succession of antagonists. On the one hand it suffers a bit from the Sons of Anarchy “How much bad shit can go down in a town that small?” incredulousness… but I did enjoy the hyperviolence and some of the moonlighting that the characters got involved in. My favourite moment was in Season 3 where the antagonist was an invincible 6 foot 5 brick shithouse of a Native American, hellbent on taking vengeance on Sheriff Hood for something or other, and from behind closed doors Hood shouts dismissively, “Fuck off, Chayton”. I guess you had to be there.

Banshee (2013)

Genres: Crime, Drama

Created by: David Schickler, Jonathan Tropper

Starring: Antony Starr, Ivana Miličević, Hoon Lee

Episodes / Seasons: 38 / 4

First aired: January 11, 2013

Last air date: May 20, 2016

Runtime: 50 min

Website

Banshee is an American drama television series set in a small town in Pennsylvania Amish country and features an enigmatic ex-con posing as a murdered sheriff who imposes his own brand of justice while also cooking up plans that serve his own interests.

Networks: Cinemax

Production companies: Tropper Schickler Productions, One Olive, Your Face Goes Here Entertainment, Cinemax