Millicent Cooke
A massively underrated TV series starring The Boys’ actor Anthony Starr has been branded one of the ‘best shows you’ve never seen’.
Starr, 48, shot to mainstream fame as the corrupt superhero Homelander in Prime Video’s hugely popular series and the critically acclaimed spinoff Gen V.
For the uninitiated, The Boys follows the lives of The Seven – a team of legendary superheroes with extraordinary powers owned by the merciless Vought International.
The ‘supes’ are treated like celebrities by the devoted public, but away from the spotlight, they’re some of the worst people on Earth.
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The eagerly awaited fourth season of The Boys is not expected until later this year – leaving fans unsure of what to obsess over next.
Fortunately, there’s another brilliant series starring the popular New Zealand actor that is perfect for fans to binge on.
It’s a thrilling action series from the US that first aired between 2013 and 2016 – comprising four seasons and 38 episodes.
The criminally underrated show follows a mysterious ex-convict (Starr) as he journeys to the quiet town of Banshee.
There, he assumes the identity of Sheriff Lucas Hood, the town’s murdered police chief, as he seeks refuge from the formidable crime lord Rabbit (Ben Cross).
Hood’s former lover and partner in crime, Rabbit’s daughter Anastasia (Ivana Miličević), has also relocated to Banshee, assuming a new identity.
There, she established a new life during Hood’s incarceration, marrying and raising a family with Gordon Hopewell (Rus Blackwell), the district attorney of Banshee.
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Enforcing his own unique brand of justice, Hood endeavours to reconcile with his past lover while struggling to maintain his new identity.
Juggling a life of crime alongside partners Job (Hoon Lee) and Sugar (Frankie Faison), he finds himself in conflict with the influential local kingpin Kai Proctor (Ulrich Thomsen).
The series boasts an impressive 90% Rotten Tomatoes score, 8.4/10 on IMDb and 8.8/10 on IGN – and has been praised by critics.
The Independent’s Sarah Hughes calls it ‘one of the best TV shows you’ve never seen’.
“This is pulp television at its best, a fast, furious blast of over-the-top plotlines, scenery-chewing villains and tightly shot action scenes,” Hughes writes.
“Written by acclaimed literary novelists Jonathan Tropper and David Schickler, it comes across like the result of an all-night speed-writing jag yet its gleeful indulgence in pulp’s conventions – a man with no name, a bad girl trying hard to be good, a sharp-suited villain whose slick words disguise his true evil – is what makes it such fun.”
Allison Keene of Collider comments: “The story is full of twists and unexpected connections, as well as its telltale brutal violence.
“In a sick streak of creativity, the show continues to find new, gruesome ways to kill people.”
“The best show on television and one that deserves your attention,” Dan Buffa of KSDK News pens.
Ken Tucker, of Yahoo! TV, adds: “The series remains the best action show on TV by far.”
Fans are also rushing to recommend the underrated show.
“Overall the series is gritty and plays by its own rules,” one person writes. “It’s violent and dark. The acting is superb and the storyline is direct, doesn’t need much but it is executed beautifully and the twists are where they are supposed to be.
“Thank you for this show. I loved it.”
Another says: “Very original and engaging show, watch all the seasons.”
“This is not the type of show I normally like – but it had such awesome action and such a cool character that I’d call it one of my favourite shows of all time,” somebody else quips.
The show in question? It’s called Banshee.
If you’re interested in watching, there are plenty of ways to stream the underrated series.
In the UK, it’s available to watch as a boxset on Sky, NOW TV, Prime Video and Apple TV. In the US, it’s available to watch on HBO Max, Prime Video, Google Play and VUDU.
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