'Banshee' Renewed for Second Season at Cinemax

"Banshee"

Cinemax is staying in business with Banshee.

Less than a month after the series premiered, the premium cable network is renewing the Alan Ball action series for a second season. The Friday night effort, which THR chief TV critic Tim Goodman called “taut, entertaining and smart,” will return with its second batch of episodes in 2014.

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The drama entry,  which premiered its 10-episode season in mid-January, centers on Lucas Hood (Antony Starr), an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, Pa., where he continues his criminal activities, even as he’s hunted by the shadowy gangsters he betrayed years earlier.

Initially developed at HBO, Banshee bowed to 483,000 viewers Jan. 11 -- with nearly 1 million viewers tuning in for rebroadcasts over the course of the night. The hourlong series, which has helped put the HBO sibling on the map as a scripted player, counts True Blood’s Ball, Jonathan Tropper, David Schickler, Peter Macdissi and House’s Greg Yaitanes as executive producers. 

Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose