Kevin Bacon plays Hub Halloran, a scruffy bounty hunter in northern Georgia. Hub gets killed and wakes up with his injuries healed. Hub learns that he’s involved with a deal with the Devil to hunt down demons who’ve escaped from HELL.
This 8-episode series also stars Jennifer Nettles ( lead singer of Sugarland) as Maryanne, Hub’s ex-wife and Beth Grant as Kitty, Hub’s feisty, retired bounty hunter, mother. I’ve watched five of the eight episodes so far. AMAZON dropped all eight episodes this week. GRADE: INCOMPLETE but trending towards a B-
I know that plot – maybe a Neil Gaiman book? – dragging back people who have escaped from Hell. Jackie wants to try it.
Jeff, THE BONDSMAN follows the template of the 2007-2009 CW TV show, REAPER, where the lead character is a “reaper” who works for the Devil by retrieving souls that have escaped from Hell. Low rent entertainment.
That’s it! I knew I wasn’t imagining things. The best thing about REAPER was Ray Wise as the Devil. He was great. I see Jeff Smith saw it the same way.
Jeff, great Jeffs think alike!
And not solely REAPER. This is a well that has been gone back to several times in a/v series over the last couple of decades. Kevin Bacon agreeing to do it gives it a leg up, but sounds a bit like stale sulfur.
Todd, stale sulfur pretty much sizes THE BONDSMAN up. But I like Jennifer Nettles.
We really enjoyed REAPER, especially Ray Wise’s performance as the Devil. THE BONDSMAN doesn’t look anywhere near as imaginative.
Jeff, you’re right. I enjoyed REAPER, too. THE BONDSMAN is a pale imitation. Mildly entertaining.
Didn’t Disney have a series long ago about a man sent by the devil to capture 100 souls who had escaped from Hell? I can’t remember the title but I remember the series was thankfully cancelled long before they got to number 100.
Jerry, the only Disney connection with the Devil I recall is: “The Devil and Max Devlin is a 1981 American fantasy–comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions, directed by Steven Hilliard Stern and starring Elliott Gould, Bill Cosby and Susan Anspach.
The film was considered to be controversial for a Disney film at the time, partly because of the subject matter, but also because of Cosby’s atypical portrayal of a villainous character. This film was one of three that influenced Disney to establish Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures as an avenue to produce and release films for mature audiences.” (Wikipedia)
The series Jerry’s thinking of was BRIMSTONE, with the 100 escaped damned souls…one of the other ones I was thinking of…and there’s at least one more that had a run, not counting such close approaches as ANGEL, which dabbled in hell-traps and the like, and LUCIFER, which for obvious reasons came even closer.