AMC’s crime drama series Parish assembled a great cast featuring Giancarlo Esposito in the lead role. The series premiered in March 2024 and aimed to tell the audience the thrilling story of a man who turned from a criminal to a family man. However, the story took a flip when, one day, his son got murdered, which forced him to get back to a life he had turned from.
The show’s concept had all the elements of a promising show– a well-known leading man setting the plot for revenge in New Orleans. However, the transformation of the series from a promising drama to its cancellation is a mix of creative choices, viewers’ responses, and behind-the-scenes circumstances.
The rise and fall of Parish
Parish is an American version of the BBC One series The Driver. Danny Brocklehurst directed the show, which revolved around Gray Parish, played by Giancarlo Esposito, whose character arc plays with the shades of both good and evil, morality and revenge.
Other important roles included Shepherd Tonghai, portrayed by Zackary Momoh, Rose Parish by Paula Malcomson, and Colin Broussard, played by Skeet Ulrich.
Production started in March 2022 when the adaptation was first announced. The series underwent several evolutions, the first of which was a renaming of the protagonist, as Vince was changed to Gracian “Gray” Parish. The production team also featured a good list of executive producers, including Brocklehurst and Esposito, among others with the producers team.
The filming started at the beginning of August 2022, and many scenes were shot in New Orleans in order to immerse the audience in the backdrop where the action takes place. The production was going as planned until October 2022, when problems began when the co-creator, Sunu Gonera, was removed from the project after an investigation.
The show further went through some more changes in the leadership after Eduardo Javier Canto and Ryan Maldonado joined as the new showrunners. After these changes, the path forward became difficult for the six-episode series.
Parish‘s critical response and viewership struggles
Parish’s cancellation was announced by AMC in October 2024. The network addressed that it was proud to work with such creative geniuses while admitting that the show had to go. It stated (via TV Line),
We’re so proud of ‘Parish,’ and thankful for the creative talent involved and the performances they were able to bring to the screen, starting with the remarkable Giancarlo Esposito, Skeet Ulrich, and the entire cast. We are unfortunately unable to proceed with a second season, but season one will remain available on AMC+ to fans who want to relive this thrill ride of a series and those yet to discover it.
The decision itself was typical of the circumstances that have affected the show ever since it aired. Critics formed one of the major challenges that Parish had to face. The show got a 76% rating from the audience on Rotten Tomatoes, while critics gave it a 33% rating and criticized its fundamental flaws.
The writing attracted most of the criticism, as many complained of a lack of creativity, depth, and originality, as the work seemed to be much of a formulaic kind.
Although most of the critics responded positively to Esposito’s performance, the show itself did not do enough to capitalize on it. Parish tried to deal with several themes ranging from action, adventure, and race and family issues, but none were well developed.
The series was criticized for a less authentic depiction of New Orleans, although the cinematography was great. In the showrunner’s drive for plot mechanics, characters became secondary, and this contributed to what most will call a very ordinary story experience.
Although there is a gap between critics’ and audience’s opinions, this again did not contribute to the fact that the show continued with relatively low ratings overall, which, perhaps, did not meet AMC’s expectations for a second season.
Behind-the-scenes troubles of Parish
The problems with the show went beyond what was seen on screen. A major blow was when the show’s co-creator, Sunu Gonera, was removed from the show due to very serious allegations. The situation came to knowledge in October 2022, and the incident triggered an investigation from AMC.
According to Deadline, sources reported that s*xual assault allegations were made against Gonera, more specifically concerning one incident that occurred in late September at an off-set apartment outside production hours. AMC’s spokesperson addressed the issue and stated,
We recently became aware of some very serious allegations against an individual working on this production, who was immediately suspended and then terminated at the conclusion of an internal investigation.
Some other sources also reportedly mentioned his alleged ill behavior on set. A3 Artists and Thruline Entertainment, which represented Gonera, dropped him from their list of clients after the allegations became public. However, Gonera’s sources said that whatever happened during the incident was consensual.
Such internal problems, together with creative hardships and controversy, painted a picture of a series that never steadied despite the promising features. It brought the show to a premature end, showing how a series or a movie can be affected by various elements both on and off the screen.
Parish is available to stream on AMC+.
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