"Banshee" Is The Best TV Show Of The Past Decade That Not Nearly Enough People Watched
*this blog was originally published on July 7, 2018, and I'm running it back because BANSHEE is now streaming on HBO Max and you should fucking watch it*
I'm gonna repeat the headline one more time since people like to get mad because they can't read. "Banshee" is the best show to come out in the last decade in which people have not watched. I'm not calling it the best show of the past decade. No, it's the golden age of television, that would be a preposterous claim. It is, however, the best show I've seen that not nearly enough people I've come across have.
I know part of the reason why it didn't hit a wider audience - it was on Cinemax. Yes, Cinemax makes original programming that isn't just softcore porn that we all watched when we were 14. Not a whole heap of original programming, as Wikipedia is telling me that "Banshee" was one of four shows that they've tried their hand at. "The Knick" being the only other I've ever even heard of. But a network does not a good show make. AMC was rubbish before "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" and now they're a titan of the game. Not saying Cinemax is about to go on a comparable run, just don't hold it against "Banshee" that it wasn't on a traditional powerhouse network like HBO.
It only ran four seasons, which I appreciate. Give me four quality seasons over nine stretched out seasons of mid. It wrapped up neatly, there weren't long drawn out episodes waiting to get to the next big thing. I caught it while it was running live after the third season, and those first 30 episodes were easiest show I've ever binged. It's not that this was the most inventive show, or that it tapped into society's woes, or that it had incredible, cinematic sets like "Game Of Thrones," but it sets up an identity in episode one and never wavers.
It's an action show, and woo buddy is there action every single episode. There's nazis, the Amish, Native Americans, the mob, cops, retired boxers, computer hackers, Satanists, former marines, the more I'm listing out the more it sounds like this show needed more than four seasons to jam all of these character arcs together - but it didn't. It's never overbearing, there's never any confusion who a person is or what their motivations are, it's all incredibly straight forward, which is perhaps its greatest strength.
The Rotten Tomatoes synopsis is the most fleshed out I've seen compared to Wikipedia, IMDB, and the like:
A man spends 15 years in the prison for stealing $15 million worth of diamonds. After his release, he assumes the identity of the sheriff of a small, out-of-the-way Pennsylvanian town. He continues with his criminal activities there, trying to keep a low profile. One wrong move and he will be the target of the ruthless gangster whom he double-crossed all those years ago when he stole the diamonds.
And even that doesn't do it justice. But that's for sure the premise of Season 1, and it doesn't waste any time getting to the point. I'm not trying to get into too many details because I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't seen it that are looking for something to watch this summer. I know how folks get about spoilers and if you're unfamiliar with the show, as I assume you are, then really any other details will start to sound rather spoilery. So I'll end on this: if you enjoy the violence and sexual nature of "GoT," if you were enthralled by the absurdity and improbable nature of "Breaking Bad," if you just like to watch a motherfucker bash another motherfucker in the face, you should check it out.
For the TL:DR crowd: As per usual, Large had the best possible take on it.
