Banshee.

There was certain similarities between the opening episodes of Defiance and Sky Atlantic's new show Banshee. Both had central characters with chequered pasts finding themselves in a strange, diverse, violent town and ending up as sheriff. Perhaps that is because both shows are thinly veiled westerns. But of the two, it will be Banshee that I'll be sticking with.

Fresh out of jail our hero Lucas Hood (Anthony Starr) sets off to find his ex girlfriend and the diamonds they stole, but as you would expect, things don't go to plan and he finds himself in the rural Amish town of Banshee and becomes sheriff, in a manner I won't spoil for you. But Banshee is a far from peaceful place. Hood falls in with local bar owner Sugar Bates (Frankie Faison, the closest person the show has to a star) and meets up with the local crime boss the creepy Kai Proctor (Ulrich Thomson). 

What sets Banshee apart, from the bunch, is the  sex, language, and violence we are nearly approaching Spartacus levels at times (the bar scene is  pure Spartacus style)  and the whole thing feels like it should be adapted from a graphic novel. The acting is good and solid although Anthony Starr as Hood looks like a mini me of Ray Stevenson and, for a tough guy, his mannerisms are more Lee Evans than Lee Marvin at times, but no doubt he will grow into the role. 

While no Justified, Banshee hasn't the sharp script and charismatic performances to get it to that level, it looks like it could keep us gripped, that is if it doesn't slip into a kind of Northern Exposure with buckets of blood. I noticed Alan Ball has an Executive Producer credit, which must mean JJ Abrams dance card is full at the moment.

Over