Watch My Show: Banshee's Greg Yaitanes Answers Our Showrunner Survey

In Cinemax's new action drama Banshee (already picked up for Season 2), Antony Starr plays a thief who assumes the role of sheriff in Banshee, a small town in Pennsylvania's Amish country, yet finds it hard to escape his past. Jonathan Tropper and David Schickler created the show, which also boasts True Blood's Alan Ball and House alum Greg Yaitanes as executive producers. Yaitanes explains why you should visit Banshee.

TV Guide Magazine: I've got room in my life to watch one more show. Why should it be yours?
Greg Yaitanes: There's always room for dessert. Banshee is a delicious mix of sex, action and drama.

TV Guide Magazine: Who should be watching?
Yaitanes: Anyone digging Breaking Bad, Homeland, Sons of Anarchy or The Wire. Fans of action films and graphic novels. Every single member of my family.

TV Guide Magazine: What happens if we don't watch your show?
Yaitanes: You're missing out. Banshee's 10 episodes will take you on a very satisfying journey. We do in one season what most shows drag out for five. It's packed.

TV Guide Magazine: Give us an equation for your show.
Yaitanes: Witness plus Warrior times Tarantino minus the boring parts of No Country for Old Men divided by Sex and Lucia minus Lucia.

TV Guide Magazine: What's the best thing anyone has said or written about Banshee?
Yaitanes: That it's the perfect blend of character and genre and not like anything on TV right now.

TV Guide Magazine: What's the worst thing?
Yaitanes: "What's Banshee?"

TV Guide Magazine: What's an alternate title?
Yaitanes: Downton Abbey.  But we couldn't use it for obvious reasons. 

TV Guide Magazine: Come up with a premise for the spin-off.
Yaitanes: We have it. It's called Banshee: Origins, and it's an online series along with a graphic novel of the show's backstory.

TV Guide Magazine: What credit of yours would you prefer we forget?
Yaitanes: The pilot to Cleopatra 2525.

TV Guide Magazine: Amish TV is hot right now. Tell me something unique about your Amish characters.
Yaitanes: Two words: "Amish gangster."

TV Guide Magazine: If you weren't producing this show, what series would you most like to be an executive producer on?
Yaitanes: Family Guy. Seth MacFarlane and his writers are fearless. 

TV Guide Magazine: Why is your cast the best on television?
Yaitanes: It's a largely European cast playing Americans, which I had very good luck with when I was executive producing House with Hugh Laurie.

TV Guide Magazine: Let's scare the network. Tell us an idea that didn't make it to the screen.
Yaitanes: The great thing about pay cable and working for Cinemax is there is no scaring them.

TV Guide Magazine: Pick another show to start a fake feud with.
Yaitanes: We shoot Banshee across the street from Homeland and will thrown down on softball anytime. 

What show would you like to do a crossover episode with, and how would that go?
Yaitanes: The Sopranos. Tony and the gang would fit right in. That's the bar we hold ourselves to and hope people engage [with] and discover Banshee.

TV Guide Magazine: How will your show change the face of TV as we know it?
Yaitanes: By embracing multiple media platforms from our inception, Banshee will redefine TV in terms of "trans-media," meaning there are multiple platforms and layers to enjoy and engage the show on. I'd urge that anyone watching makes sure to watch the title sequence carefully since it changes every week and to stay for the end credits since there is something waiting for you at the very end of each episode.

Banshee airs Fridays, 10/9c, on Cinemax

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