Bansheewas a TV series that ran for four seasons on Cinemax. The show was all action and told the story of an ex-con who assumed the identity of Lucas Hood, a murdered sheriff in the small town of Banshee, Pennsylvania, where he had some unfinished business. Here are some reasons why you should go back and watch this under-seen show:
Spectacular Action
Sheriff Lucas Hood (Antony Starr) was a man of action that would fight anyone who didn’t follow his law. That made for incredibly exciting television, asBansheehad some of the best action scenes on the small screen. That’s still true, 10 years later. If you love the action scenes onJohn Wick, you should definitely watch this series, as they’re cut from the same cloth. As with the Keanu Reeves franchise,Bansheealso has a unique world with a great, specific set of characters you wouldn’t find anywhere else (be it an albino warrior, Amish mob bosses, or an Indian tribe full of secrets).
The action is brutal, and sometimes there are more fist fights than conversations, but there’s always a motive for them, and it’s never there for the sake of it. Every confrontation has a dramatic reason to be there. As the show moves along, the fighting and sets keep getting more and more adventurous and original, especially in season three, where there’s a fight scene that still might be the best action scene ever done on TV. The action is one of the biggest selling points, butBansheeis about much more. It’s also about love, friendship, honor, family, redemption, and justice. About the show, co-creatorJonathan Tropper told Nerdcore Movement:“We took our characters very seriously, but we didn’t take ourselves too seriously. We knew we weren’t doing ‘Downtown Abbey,’ we wanted to do something that was always entertaining, always fun, never took itself too seriously, and at the same time had a real production value and quality to it. I think we were actually very successful on that front.”
Related:Banshee: The Best Episodes, Ranked
Easily Binge-Worthy
As a Cinemax show,Bansheehas extreme violence, graphic nudity, and some sarcastic humor. It’s also only 38 episodes long in total, divided into four seasons, with a big bad on each of them, so it’s easy to binge.As a descendant ofThe Shield, every season gets better, and more adrenaline-fueled and action-packed, the closer it is to the end, so by episode eight, you won’t leave your seat. The show’s pacing is perfectly calibrated, so each season has its big bad troubles, mixing it with character studies, romance, and full-fledged action sequences and set pieces. Sometimes the scenes are so intense, you’ll forget to breathe until the end credits appear on the screen.
The action is the show’s calling card, but what will make you want to see what happens next is Hood’s relationship with Carrie (Ivana Milicevic), the one that got away. Other interesting things to look for are his camaraderie with Job (Hon Lee) and Sugar (Frankie Faison), and his relationship with his deputies, who are still getting used to his methods. The team behind the show knows how to mix all those ingredients creating an addictive recipe, that will make you come for more. Something co-creator Jonathan Tropper has become a master of, as it also happens inhis next show,Warrior.
The tragic love story between Hood (his real name is an enigma for the whole series) and Carrie (not her real name either) is as tragic as it is hopeful. When the show starts, they know what they shared in the past, but their lives couldn’t be more different and the possibility of them rekindling their romance is impossible. AsBansheemoves along, their relationship goes one step forward, and two steps back, with every interaction, creating a low-key romantic drama that shows that the tough guy also has a sensitive side.
Related:Why Antony Starr Would Be the Perfect Choice as Dracula in the MCU’s Blade
The Boys’ Homelander’s First Leading Role
Lucas Hood wasAntony Starr’s first leading role in America, so withoutBanshee, we probably wouldn’t have Starr as Homelander inThe Boys. Starr’s performance here is magnetic. His Lucas hood is a stoic, tough guy, but he also gets toshow his vulnerability with those closestto him, a trait he shares with his character fromThe Boys, and even uses some of his comedic timing in his relationship with computer hacker, Job. It’sone of his best performances, that’s for sure.
About his character,Starr told Interview Magazine: ”I don’t think it really matters what you say to him because he doesn’t really listen to anyone. He does his own thing. Life has served him a set of circumstances that have taught him the only way to get something done is to do it yourself. Everyone else is out to get you.”
Although Starr was the star of the show,Bansheehad an incredible cast of actors who could play the action, but also the love, and compassion their characters needed even in the worst moments. Ivana Milicevic (The 100) was as tough as they come, and with great action scenes of their own; Ulrich Thomsen (Festen) was scary and disgusting; Frankie Faison (The Wire) and Hoon Lee (Warrior) were the perfect supporting players to help Starr; Lili Simmons (Ray Donovan) was all temptation and much more intelligent than it looked, and Mattew Rauch (Partner Track) was the only actor who could play a character with a bow tie and glasses, and make him the most menacing of all in a show full of menacing players. For all those reasons, we encourage you to go back and watchBanshee,the best action TV show there’s been in the last 10 years.
