"You can't outrun your past"
Banshee is pure adrenaline disguised as television. An unnamed ex-con (Antony Starr) is released from prison after fifteen years. He tracks down his former lover and partner, Carrie (Ivana Milicevic), now living as a married mother in Banshee, Pennsylvania—an Amish country town controlled by a crime lord named Kai Proctor (Ulrich Thomsen). When the new sheriff arrives to take his post, our ex-con kills him—in a bar fight, accidentally, brutally—and assumes his identity. "Sheriff Lucas Hood" isn't a lawman; he's the deadliest man in Banshee, using the badge as cover.
The show's premise is pulpy, and it knows it. Each episode delivers: bar fights, shootouts, heists, sex scenes that earned Cinemax its "Skinemax" nickname. But the execution elevates it. Antony Starr is magnetic—charming, violent, haunted, capable of anything except honesty. His fights are brutal, choreographed with a visceral intensity that television rarely attempts. He's not a hero—he's a criminal pretending to be a sheriff, doing good while doing bad, protecting Carrie while destroying everything around her.
The supporting cast includes Job (Hoon Lee), a trans hacker and the ex-con's partner, delivering campy one-liners and lethal competence; Sugar (Frankie Faison), a former boxer turned bartender; and Hood's Native American allies, the Kinaho tribe, whose politics intersect with the town's corruption. Kai Proctor is the rare villain who's both terrifying and sympathetic—an Amish-born crime lord who believes he's protecting his community. "This is my town," he says. "I built it."
Four seasons, thirty-eight episodes, complete. Banshee was Cinemax's answer to The Sopranos—smaller scale, bigger action, equally pulpy. The finale provides closure: Hood's identity revealed, enemies vanquished, Carrie freed. But the message is clear: you can't outrun your past. Hood escapes—but barely, and at great cost. "I was born in violence," he says. "I'll die in violence." Not yet.
Narrative Drive (9): relentless, propulsive, addictive. Each episode has action, hooks, momentum. Pure adrenaline.
Characters & Acting (8): Antony Starr is incredible—charming, terrifying, unreadable. Hoon Lee's Job is essential support.
Resolution (8): Complete story. Identity revealed, enemies defeated, loose ends tied. Satisfying finale.
("Pilot" (S1E1) — The introduction. Prison release. Sheriff killed. "I'm the new sheriff."
"The Fire Trials" (S2E1) — Season two premiere. The past returns. "I'm not done."
("Tribal" (S3E8) — Kinaho politics. The heist. Action peak.
("Requiem" (S4E8) — Series finale. "I was born in violence." The escape.
US: HBO Max
UK: Amazon Prime