The Cinemax action series Banshee tells the story of Lucas Hood (Antony Starr), an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, PA.  It’s the perfect cover for him to try to win back the love of his life (Ivana Milicevic) and hide out from the dangerous gangster (Ben Cross) that they both betrayed years earlier, while attempting not to get into too much more trouble.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor Matt Servitto (who plays Brock Lotus, the Banshee sheriff’s department longest serving deputy, that resents Lucas Hood for taking the job he wanted) talked about how he came to be a part of Banshee, that he loved the twist on what could have been a very generic character on another show, how putting on the uniform really helps inform the character and the way he carries himself, that Season 2 starts shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina on April 8^th, how the action and fight scenes will be ramped up next season, how he’s hoping to get a lot more ensemble scenes to do, what he’d like to learn about his character, and how surprised he is about the show’s strong female following.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

The Cinemax action series Banshee tells the story of Lucas Hood (Antony Starr), an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, PA.  It’s the perfect cover for him to try to win back the love of his life (Ivana Milicevic) and hide out from the dangerous gangster (Ben Cross) that they both betrayed years earlier, while attempting not to get into too much more trouble.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actress Trieste Kelly Dunn (who plays Siobhan Kelly, a deputy in the Banshee sheriff’s department who has put her painful past behind her to become a cop) talked about how she came to be a part of the show, how she relates to her character, working with only a general idea of her character and finding out more details over the course of the season, how much putting on the uniform helps inform the character, how much she loves the fight scenes and stunts, what Siobhan might think if she found out Hood’s secret, that she’d love to have a scene with Job helping Siobhan pick out what to wear on a date, and how she’s going to be reading Episodes 1 and 2 of Season 2, very soon.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

The Cinemax action series Banshee tells the story of Lucas Hood (Antony Starr), an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, PA.  It’s the perfect cover for him to try to win back the love of his life (Ivana Milicevic) and hide out from the dangerous gangster (Ben Cross) that they both betrayed years earlier, while attempting not to get into too much more trouble.

During this recent exclusive interview with Collider, actor Hoon Lee – who plays the bad-ass transvestite computer hacker named Job (truly one of the best new characters on television), that assists Lucas in his criminal enterprises – talked about what attracted him to the very unique role, how the look for the character came about, doing action scenes in heels, Job’s great dialogue, his favorite episodes this season, and the courage in Job’s lifestyle and choices.  He also talked about voicing Splinter for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

The Cinemax action series Banshee tells the story of Lucas Hood (Antony Starr), an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, PA.  It’s the perfect cover for him to try to win back the love of his life (Ivana Milicevic) and hide out from the dangerous gangster (Ben Cross) that they both betrayed years earlier, while attempting not to get into too much more trouble.

During this recent exclusive interview with Collider, showrunner/executive producer/director Greg Yaitanes talked about how he came to be a part of Banshee, what it was that drew him to the show, the challenge of having so much story to tell in 10 episodes, how liberating it is to work with the freedom of cable television, and having so many criminal elements to explore.  He also talked about always knowing that he’s wanted this career, his meeting with Joel Silver when he was in his 20′s, and his preference for digital over film.  Check out what he had to say after the jump. 

The Cinemax action series Banshee tells the story of Lucas Hood (Antony Starr), an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, PA.  It’s the perfect cover for him to try to win back the love of his life (Ivana Milicevic) and hide out from the dangerous gangster (Ben Cross) that they both betrayed years earlier, while attempting not to get into too much more trouble.

During this recent exclusive interview with Collider, actress Ivana Milicevic talked about how she got involved with this show, how much she enjoys getting to play the two sides of her character, what it’s like doing the fairly graphic but always story-driven sex scenes, working with co-stars Antony Starr and Rus Blackwell, what’s to come for her character, and her favorite episodes this season.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

Some renewals for some popular cable television programs have been ordered.  Briefly:

• Showtime has ordered new seasons of Shameless, House of Lies, and Californication to air in 2014.
• Cinemax has renewed True Blood creator Alan Ball’s new series Banshee for a second season that will debut in 2014.
• BBC America has ordered an 8-episode second season of the mystery series Ripper Street to air in 2014.

Hit the jump to read the press releases.

The Cinemax action series Banshee tells the story of Lucas Hood (Antony Starr), an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, PA.  It’s the perfect cover for him to try to win back the love of his life (Ivana Milicevic) and hide out from the dangerous gangster that they both betrayed years earlier, while attempting not to get in too much more trouble.

During this recent exclusive interview with Collider, show star Antony Starr talked about how he came to be a part of the show, what attracted him to Banshee, the role violence plays in the series, that the star-crossed lovers aspect is really the anchor of the story, the unusual friendship between Lucas Hood and Job (Hoon Lee), who his allies are, the various criminal elements that surround this small town, and whether he thinks his character would do things differently, if he knew just how much trouble it would get him into.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

There are rare occasions when a new television show establishes itself so well and gives such a sense of purpose that you feel you’ve been with it all along.  Showtime’s Homeland was a fine example, with one of the best drama pilots I’ve ever come across.  But Banshee, the new drama from Cinemax, is a close contender.  It also has the surprising distinction, so far, of possibly being a contemporary heir-apparent to Deadwood.

The series comes from Alan Ball, who lest we forget, gave us American Beauty and Six Feet Under before he lost his way with True Blood.  Banshee is a callback, thankfully, to his earlier work, focusing on that familiar territory of the underbelly of a sleepy, small town.  The series’ title comes from the name of the town where the show is set, deep in rural Pennsylvania, in Amish country (or close to it).  But despite the rural setting, there is plenty going on.  Hit the jump for the specifics and more reasons to give this one a shot.

After what’s been years of successful action/comedy/horror films for Simon Pegg, the versatile actor is now reportedly looking to the small screen for a more dramatic project in L.A. Noir. Pegg is circling as a guest star in the pilot written and directed by Frank Darabont. He will join lead actor Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), as well as Neil McDonough (Minority Report) and Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) in the TNT period drama. Set in the 1940s and 1950s, L.A. Noir chronicles the war between the LAPD’s Captain William Parker (McDonough) and the mobster, Mickey Cohen. Bernthal stars as Joe Teague, an ex-Marine turned LAPD cop who gets caught up in the conflict, while Ventimiglia stars as a former Marine who served with Teague in WWII and becomes a lawyer for the mob. THR reported on Pegg circling a guest role, but so far there are few details as to his character.

Hit the jump for a casting update on True Blood-creator Alan Ball’s Banshee.

With all the supernatural death and destruction we’ve come to love and expect on HBO’s True Blood, the last person you’d expect to be axed is showrunner Alan Ball. Word from HBO and Ball himself now confirms that if the show moves on into a sixth season, Ball will not be the day-to-day man. He does, however, have an overall contract with the network and is currently executive producing Banshee for sister station, Cinemax. It seems like a good deal for both parties: HBO will keep Ball in the loop while Ball will be (somewhat) free to go after other creative pursuits. The upcoming fifth season of True Blood starts this summer. Hit the jump to see what HBO and Ball had to say.

True Blood creator Alan Ball is gearing up to pull double-duty. While Ball is currently in the midst of filming the fifth season of the hit HBO supernatural series True Blood, the cable channel’s sister network Cinemax has commissioned as series order for Banshee on which Ball is the executive producer. The action drama centers on an “ex-convict and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, PA, where he continues his criminal activities even as he’s being hunted by the shadowy gangsters he had betrayed years earlier.” Deadline reports that Cinemax has given a 10-episode order to the series, and Emmy-winning director Greg Yaitanes (House) will helm the pilot.

I found the first few seasons of True Blood to be incredibly engaging, but the show has delved too deep into soap opera territory as of late for my taste. Ball is also developing a medical drama called Witchita at HBO, so it’ll be interesting to see how involved he becomes in Banshee and if/when he departs the showrunner position on True Blood.