Parish is an American crime drama television series developed by Danny Brocklehurst and based on his BBC One series The Driver. Starring Giancarlo Esposito, it premiered on AMC on March 31, 2024. In October 2024, the series was cancelled after one season.
Contents
Premise
Gray Parish, a good man with a troubled past, has given up his life of crime to be a family man running a limousine service. A year ago his son was violently murdered. With his business struggling financially, Parish is drawn back into his old life, sending him on a relentless quest with moral intentions and dangerous consequences.
Cast and characters
Main
Giancarlo Esposito as Gracián "Gray" Parish
Zackary Momoh as Shepherd Tonghai / The Horse
Paula Malcomson as Rose Parish
Skeet Ulrich as Colin Broussard
Ivan Mbakop as Zenzo Tongai
Bonnie Mbuli as Shamiso Tongai
Arica Himmel as Makayla Parish
Dax Rey as Luke Tongai
Recurring
Amanda Brugel as Sister Anne
Caleb Baumann as Maddox Parish
Currie Graham as Perry Lousteau
Sam Malone as Detective Doucet
Bradley Whitford as Anton Valmont
Guest
Ned Yousef as Amjad
Scott Poythress as Peter Nguyen
Leydi Morales as Detective Rita Fuentes
Nicholas Logan as Wyatt
Jennifer Lafleur as Sarah
Bruce Altman as Vernon Beal
Enuka Okuma as Laura Abidemi-Smith
Tanyell Waivers as Nyasha Mambo
Yul Vazquez as Hector
Patrick Heusinger as Travis
Isaach de Bankolé as "Baba" Tongai
Production
It was announced on March 8, 2022, that a television series adaptation of the BBC One series, The Driver, was in development, with Giancarlo Esposito starring as Vince. On June 23, 2022, it was announced that Paula Malcomson had joined the cast as Ros. In July, it was announced that Arica Himmel, Ivan Mbakop, Zackary Momo and Dax Rey had joined the cast as Michaela, Zenzo, the Horse and Luke, respectively. In August, it was announced that Bonnie Mbuli and Skeet Ulrich had joined the cast as Shamiso Tongai and Colin, respectively. In September 2022, it was announced that Bradley Whitford had joined the cast as Anton. The same article confirmed that the name of Esposito's protagonist had changed from Vince to Gracian "Gray" Parish.
The series was created by Danny Brocklehurst, Sunu Gonera and Theo Travers and was executive produced by Brocklehurst, Esposito, Gonera and Travers, alongside Josh Kesselman, David Morrissey and Danny Sherman. Filming began in early August 2022 in New Orleans. That same month the title for the series was announced to be Parish. In October 2022, it was reported that Gonera was removed from the series following an internal investigation against him. On November 13, 2023, Deadline.com debuted the series teaser trailer and "first look" photos; the accompanying article identified Executive Producers Eduardo Javier Canto and Ryan Maldonado as the new series showrunners.
On October 17, 2024, the series was cancelled after one season.
Reception
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported a 36% approval rating, based on 22 critic reviews. Metacritic assigned it a score of 52 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Aramide Tinubu of Variety criticized the series as being "predictable" in its writing, and said, "When everything finally clicks in place during the series' final episode, 'A Good Man,' it feels so convenient, it's anticlimactic." Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter complimented Esposito and the action, but also criticized the writing and depiction of New Orleans.