8. Banshee (Cinemax)
Banshee is a criminally underseen show, and that needs to be rectified. If you like crime stories featuring damaged lead characters with shady pasts, existing in heightened worlds full of dangerous femme fatales and brutal gangsters, then Banshee is for you. The show follows an ex-con, played by Antony Starr, who assumes the identity of Lucas Hood, the new sheriff of the titular small town. He tangles with Mr Rabbit, the terrifying Ukrainian gangster who he has been hiding from and also Kai Proctor, the local crime kingpin. Perhaps due to its airing on the Cinemax channel in the US, a station which has only recently entered the business of making its own original content, Banshee has remained something of a cult hit. Its second series aired in 2014, and the jump in quality from season one was noticeable. The actors all became more comfortable in their characters, with performances improving across the board. The production value increased noticeably and the direction and writing of the series was superb, with Banshee becoming the place to go for cinematic quality action scenes and fight choreography. They even transcended their pulp roots a number of times, with the season showcasing an increased ambition towards telling emotionally affecting stories in amongst all the gloriously gratuitous violence.