Television series

Banshee

Name: Banshee
Genre: Drama, Action, Crime
Released: 2013
Cast: Antony Starr, Ulrich Thomsen, Ivana Miličević, Matt Servitto, Frankie Faison

Banshee is pulp with its collar unbuttoned: an ex-con steals a dead sheriff's badge and keeps stealing everything else — heists, romance, brawls — while dodging the gangsters he wronged. It's lurid, violent, gleefully over the top, filmed like a fight scene that never quite stops. For anyone who wants prestige-TV craft without prestige-TV restraint, and doesn't mind a body count.

TVMaze rating

8.6

If you liked this

Justified2010

Elmore Leonard's marshal Raylan Givens brings the same swagger-and-violence charm, sharp dialogue, and small-town crime sprawling into something bigger, with a hero barely more lawful than the men he chases.

But Wittier and slower-burn than Banshee — less nudity and action-porn excess, so it may feel tame if you want pure adrenaline.

The Shield2002

A corrupt cop running his own criminal enterprise inside the badge, same moral rot and relentless pace, and one of TV's great anti-hero performances in Michael Chiklis.

But Grittier and more handheld-realist than Banshee's choreographed brutality — fewer easy thrills, more grinding despair.

Warrior2019no page yet

Same network, same appetite for hard-R fight choreography and pulpy plotting, this time set amid 19th-century Chinatown gang wars — brutal, stylish, unapologetically entertaining.

But Period setting and tong politics ask for more patience than Banshee's contemporary small-town chaos.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Point Blank1967

Same bone structure as Banshee — an obliterated identity rebuilt through violence to settle an old debt — stripped to noir essentials decades before prestige TV existed.

A man erased from his old life reappears to reclaim what's owed him, told with cold, stylish brutality — minimalist, remorseless, decades ahead of its time.

But Sparse dialogue and 1960s pacing will feel alien if you're used to modern television's constant plot churn.

Sons of Anarchy2008

Outlaw motorcycle club drama with the same blend of savage violence, family loyalty, and soap-opera excess — total commitment to going as far as it can every week.

But Runs longer and gets bogged down in convoluted plotting by later seasons; less lean than Banshee's tighter arcs.

Ozark2017

A family forced into a criminal double life, constantly one step from exposure — same tension between ordinary cover and dangerous truth, played with cold-blooded intelligence.

But Much less action here — more slow-burn dread and financial scheming than fistfights and gunplay.

Animal Kingdom2016

A crime family simmering with betrayal and violence on the California coast, packed with heists, double-crosses, and gorgeous, sun-bleached menace.

But Ensemble family drama pacing takes longer to ignite than Banshee's cold-open brutality.

Longmire2012

A small-town sheriff drama with buried secrets and a hero who bends the law when it suits him — same setting, gentler tone, strong sense of place.

But Far less violent and sexual content; procedural rhythms replace Banshee's pulp intensity.

Strike Back2010no page yet

Cinemax's other flagship of pure spectacle — special-forces operatives, explosive set-pieces, wall-to-wall action with zero pretension about being anything but a thrill ride.

But Military globe-trotting plot instead of small-town crime; less character depth, more explosions.

Peaky Blinders2013

A gangster family clawing up through post-WWI Birmingham with the same stylish brutality, sharp tailoring, and a hero whose charm barely covers the danger underneath.

But British period setting and slower plotting are a different rhythm than Banshee's American small-town punchiness.

A History of Violence2005

Banshee's engine — a violent past disguised as domestic legitimacy — run through arthouse seriousness instead of pulp spectacle; same question, opposite register.

A quiet family man's buried violent past resurfaces and threatens everything he's built — Banshee's hidden-identity premise played with Cronenberg's clinical, unsettling restraint.

But No swagger, no action-movie payoff — it's deliberately uncomfortable rather than thrilling, and much shorter than a season of TV.

La Casa de Papel2017

Same obsession with assumed identities and elaborate cons under pressure, transplanted into a Spanish heist drama — proof the format travels far beyond American crime TV.

A crew of thieves in stolen identities and red jumpsuits pull off audacious heists while the walls close in — same adrenaline, disguise, and cat-and-mouse thrill, in Spanish swagger.

But Telenovela-style melodrama and subtitles or dubbing might grate if you want Banshee's terse American genre grammar.