My quick rating – 7.5/10. The Bondsman doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but it sure knows how to keep it rolling in style. This backwoods horror-action-comedy hybrid follows the story of Hub Halloran (Kevin Bacon), a rough-edged bounty hunter who returns from the dead with unfinished business, both with his past and with the demons that are now slipping through the cracks of hell. What follows is a high-energy, half-hour-per-episode romp through southern-fried supernatural chaos that leans hard into its inspirations and keeps things fun, fast, and bloody.
Kevin Bacon absolutely owns the lead role, delivering a grizzled, no-nonsense performance that oozes charisma. He’s a hard-ass with a shotgun, a guitar, and just enough heart to make the stakes feel real. It’s one of those roles that feels tailor-made for an actor of his caliber. Just as memorable is Beth Grant as his sharp-tongued, God-fearing mother Kitty, who adds a whole other layer of charm and grit to the mix. Their scenes together are some of the season’s best, blending old-school family dynamics with demon-slaying absurdity.
The tone will immediately feel familiar to us fans of Ash vs Evil Dead, with its splashes of over-the-top gore, offbeat humor, and creature-of-the-week format. There’s also a strong whiff of Brimstone in there, and likely a few other cult series baked into the DNA. That said, The Bondsman doesn’t hide its influences, it embraces them. This isn’t the most original show on the block, and it’s not trying to be. What it delivers is pure, pulpy entertainment.
The show is built to be easily digestible, with quick 30-minute episodes that rarely drag and always end with just enough intrigue to keep you queuing up the next one. While the demon mythology stays on the surface for now, the show doesn’t pretend to be a deep lore-dive, at least not yet. The simple premise and episodic structure work in its favor, allowing the effects team to go wild with a new hellspawn design each week, many of which are surprisingly well-rendered.
The humor lands more often than not, and the cast is solid across the board, each character bringing their own kind of energy to the screen. The special effects, while clearly on a TV budget, are effective and stylized enough to be a highlight. And even when the plot treads familiar ground, the performances and monster-of-the-week format keep it from feeling stale.
In the end, The Bondsman delivers what it sets out to do: it entertains. It’s a quick binge, a good time, and a perfect watch for fans of campy supernatural action. Here’s hoping future seasons ramp up the violence, stretch the runtime a bit, and dive deeper into the infernal lore hinted at this season. More demons, more music, more mayhem—bring it on.
This one is exclusive to Amazon Prime for the time being.
Update: The Bondsman, Prime Video: The half-hour supernatural drama starring Kevin Bacon as a resurrected bounty hunter couldn’t cheat its own death. The Bondsman has been canceled after one season. (May 16, Deadline)