Banshee

An ex-con assumes the identity of a small-town sheriff. That is the bargain Banshee asks you to accept, and it wastes little time finding out how much trouble the arrangement can cause. The town has existing criminal interests, old grievances and very few people inclined to leave well alone.

Antony Starr gives the central character the necessary mixture of nerve and barely controlled aggression. The appeal is not watching a convincing police officer solve tidy cases. It is watching a man use a badge to enter situations for which his previous life has prepared him rather too well.

The action is unusually committed, and the supporting characters have enough force to prevent every confrontation becoming the same fight. There is plenty of excess. Viewers looking for procedural realism will find better options elsewhere, but the willingness to follow its outrageous premise is a large part of the fun.

For another cop story with a deeply compromised lead, The Shield is more grounded. Banshee is the choice when you want the crime drama pushed firmly towards pulp.