Parish (TV series)

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.

Premise
Gray Parish, a good man with a troubled past, has given up his life of crime to be a family man. However, when his son is violently murdered, old habits return, sending Parish on a relentless quest with moral intentions and dangerous consequences.

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 is created by Danny Brocklehurst, Sunu Gonera and Theo Travers and is executive produced by Brocklehurst, Esposito, Gonera and Travers, alongside Josh Kesselman, David Morrissey and Danny Sherman. Filming began in early August of 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.

Reception
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported a 30% approval rating, based on 20 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 crticized 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.