Banshee just wrapped up an extremely brief first season with A Mixture Of Madness. As adult dramas go, it had one intriguing premise – an ex-con gets out of prison and makes his way to a sleepy Pennsylvania town called Banshee. While stopping at a local bar, he steps in to help the new sheriff in a barfight with some local roughnecks. The fight takes a sour turn, and the sheriff gets killed. Spotting an opportunity, the ex-con and the barman bury the sheriff’s body and our ex-con adopts the identity of Lucas Hood, town sheriff.

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Over 10 intense episodes, Banshee peeled back layer upon layer of intrigue – introducing Rabbit, the Russian gangster who wants Hood dead for betraying him. And Proctor, the exiled Amish local boss. Not to mention Job, Hood’s partner in crime from the old days – a flamboyant transvestite hacker who eventually moved to Banshee where he set about redefining the phrase ‘fish out of water’.

The good news is that Banshee has been renewed for a second season, returning in 2014. Let’s take a look at what we’re expecting when Season 2 begins:
1.Hood now owes Proctor a favour: As much as Hood loathes the local gangster, Proctor saved his life. The two of them are uneasy allies right now. Best case scenario, Proctor will call in one big favour, possibly against the Native Americans he’s made enemies of. Worst case? Proctor will expect Hood to turn a blind eye to all his criminal activities in Banshee.
2.Where will Proctor’s relationship with his niece Rebecca go from here? We’re getting major mixed signals from Proctor. There’s been a disturbing incestual overtone to their relationship, but Proctor also seems to want her to get involved in his business. Either way, the connection between these two Amish exiles is fascinating. Can’t wait to see what comes next.
3.Hold on, that was the Mayor? Proctor blew up the mayor! That’s massive. That implies a town election in Season 2 – and who might want that role – Proctor? Gordon? Longshadow?
4.Will Carrie tell her daughter that Lucas is her real father? Unless I’m mistaken, Deva now knows that Gordon isn’t her natural father, but not that Lucas is. What can we expect here? It’s far too late for Lucas to be playing the protective father, and would Deva accept him anyway?
5.Will Gordon return to Carrie or will there be a Carrie/Lucas hookup? Let’s face it, Lucas and Carrie work best when they’re kept apart. The simmering sexual tension between the two was a highlight of the season. But now that Carrie’s history has been revealed, can she really remain married to the local District Attorney? Either way, Gordon could be a formidable enemy for Lucas if he chose to put the faux sheriff under the microscope!
6.With the discovery of the real Lucas Hood’s corpse, will Fake Lucas be exposed? We’re hoping that Lucas doesn’t pull a simple ‘hide the evidence’ trick like he did earlier in Season 1. But if there’s any shred of forensic evidence that leads back to the real Lucas Hood, we can’t see any easy way that Lucas could talk himself out of this one.
7.Proctor’s war with the Native Americans: Proctor has inadvertently murdered a man by blowing up the casino. Will that come back to haunt him, and will he need to rely on Lucas to help him out? We know that the excellent Odette Annable has signed up for another four episodes in Banshee Season 2, so presumably she’ll be exercising her assassin skills against Proctor. And let’s not forget Rebecca’s conscience when she realises she was the one who set off the bomb?
8.Rabbit is still alive: And he knows where Carrie and Lucas are now. Though much of his muscle has been shot down by Proctor, will Rabbit come back to exact an even more deadly revenge on his daughter and Lucas?
9.More Job, more Sugar: Hood has a fantastic little criminal team developing in Job and Sugar. Is it possible that Banshee will investigate taking this threesome – and maybe also Carrie – and using their skills to pull off some out-of-town heists?

As has been pointed out repeatedly across the web, Banshee is a pulpy, sexy, violent show that hinges on some preposterous (but brilliant) characters: the ex-con who’s masquerading as a sheriff, the soccer mom who’s a professional thief, the ex-Amish gangster and that excellent wisecracking transvestite hacker Job. But magically, it all works and it works beautifully.

What’s your take on the first season of Banshee? Have your say in the comments!