The Bondsman is a fun supernatural drama with a wicked sense of humor and a good cast led by Kevin Bacon, but unfortunately Amazon gave up on the show far too quickly.
What Is It?
This series follows Hub Halloran, a grizzled bounty hunter from rural Georgia who is murdered and resurrected by the Devil to capture escaped demons and send them back to Hell. Hub must navigate his new role while confronting personal demons, including a strained relationship with his ex-wife Maryanne and their son Cade.
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Nettles, Beth Grant, Damon Herriman, Maxwell Jenkins, Jolene Purdy
Created By: Grainger David
Johnny Jay’s Thoughts:
I have to admit that I am not a big fan of supernatural dramas because it seems like they have been done to death. Heck, Supernatural alone ran for fifteen seasons and covered pretty much every trope in the genre multiple times. But every once in a while, a show comes around that offers some intriguing twists—and interestingly, two of my current favorite shows both fall into the supernatural drama category. One is Syfy’s SurrealEstate and you can read my review of that show’s third season at this link. The other I only just started watching, and that is The Bondsman, which is streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video.
This series stars Kevin Bacon as a bounty hunter for the Devil, tracking down and killing demons that have escaped from Hell. Bacon’s character, Hub Halloran, is killed and sent to the underworld, but he is then resurrected with the task of seeking out refugees from Hell, and he has a handler assigned to monitor his progress. If this premise sounds familiar, you need only look back to 1998’s Brimstone, though that was a much darker take on the concept (you can read more about that one at this link). There was also 2007’s Reaper, which had many similarities and injected much more humor. But even though The Bondsman channels those shows at times, it delivers a completely fresh spin.
To start with, Hub brings in those around him pretty early—even if reluctantly—on the fact that he died and has now returned as an agent for the Devil. And even though that is a bit cringy because his fifteen-year-old son is included, it means they don’t waste a lot of time with him trying to hide what he is doing while living a double life; the focus is more on the stories and also developing the characters. And while the show does bring in a family drama element, it is not high on the angsty scale and focuses more on a family that has gone through struggles but is now trying to reconcile. The Bondsman does lack a Devil character chewing up the scenery like Brimstone and Reaper had, but the staff of the Pot of Gold Company—which handles the Devil’s affairs on Earth—prove sufficiently colorful.
Of course, none of this would work without a good cast, and this show certainly has that with Kevin Bacon leading things up. Genre fans will remember him from his standout role as Val McKee in 1990’s cult classic Tremors, and Hub could very well be a grizzled elder version of that same character. You can tell that Bacon loves walking in the character’s shoes (his words), just as he did with Val in Tremors, and his performance seems like a labor of love. But he is also surrounded by an excellent cast, which includes Jolene Purdy as Midge, his handler with demons of her own; Beth Grant, his straight-talking, no-nonsense mom; Jennifer Nettles as his ex-wife trying to rebuild her life; and Damon Herriman as the villainous-yet-repentant Lucky Callahan. Each character manages to stand out and hold their own next to Bacon’s dominating performance.
In the final analysis, it’s hard to say what makes this show work, but it does. It has a familiar concept and does not explore much new territory as far as supernatural dramas go, but it just feels genuine—from the performances, to the scripts, to the overall production. It has a minimum of copy-and-paste dialogue and stories, and the actors have a definite chemistry that helps bring things together. It also injects just the right amount of humor to offset some of the darker storylines, though it never turns into a full-blown comedy. Fans of supernatural shows should certainly enjoy this one, but I believe that it should appeal to a broader audience as well with its good mix of drama and humor and characters you come to care about.
Sadly, though, Amazon has canceled the show after one season (more on that below), and it ended on a pretty big cliffhanger. I would say it is still worth the journey, though, and at around thirty minutes per episode (eight total in the first season), it is a pretty quick watch.
What’s Next?
As mentioned, Amazon has cancelled this show which is rather frustrating seeing as they barely promoted it. I did not discover it existed until almost two weeks after it premiered, and I scour the internet each week looking for new and returning sci-fi and fantasy shows. The creative team definitely had plans for more seasons, seeing as the show ended on a cliffhanger, and this one could have run for several seasons. If fans were to band together, they could lobby for the show to continue on a different venue. But I don’t know if this one developed enough of a following to make much noise on the social networks to save the show. If it ends up being another one-and-done streaming casualty, it will definitely count as a missed opportunity—because this could have turned into a sleeper genre entry if given the chance.
Where Can You Watch It?
The first season is still available for streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video. Though I would advise tuning in sooner rather than later because Amazon cut this one down so quickly that I would not be surprised if it were to get booted from streaming as a write-down.
Are you watching The Bondsman and would you support fan efforts to save the show? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments section below.
Keep up with the status of all the current sci fi and fantasy shows as well as news and updates on new and upcoming shows at CancelledSciFi.com.
Cancellation Watch: Status updates and breaking news on renewals and cancellations
Sci Fi TV Highlights: Listings for the upcoming week along with the latest sci fi TV news and trailers.
Sci Fi TV Production Report: News on which sci fi TV shows are moving into production.
And be sure to follow us on social media: Blue Sky | Facebook | Mastodon | Twitter.
