You might not recognize his name, but Shane Black is a legend. Is that high praise? Yes. Is it deserved? Yes. This is the man who wrote Lethal Weapon. His involvement with the franchise beyond that was limited to a story credit for the sequel. That didn’t stop him from creating other movies in that vein. The Last Boy Scout was also his creation, as was The Long Kiss Goodnight. Then, as a director, he would launch the three-film salvo of writing and directing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3, and The Nice Guys. The former and latter of those are terribly under-watched gems. If you haven’t seen them, you should actually stop reading this and watch them now. Then you can come back, and we’ll talk about Shane Black working with AMC and Netflix.
Welcome Back to Shane Black
Oh, hey, you’re back. Did you enjoy the movies? You bet you did. How about that dialogue, right? That’s something Black excels at. He is the king of snappy, witty dialogue that flies hard and fast. That’s part of what made Lethal Weapon so iconic, and he hasn’t let up since. There were some duds in his catalog, though. The Predator was probably not a good vehicle for his style. Black seems like the type of guy who was raised by a Mickey Spillane novel. That’s why his upcoming series, Bannerman, looks like a return to form for him.
The series is set to be based on a series of books by author John R Maxim. They tell the story of a former spy, Paul Bannerman. Seeking a life of retirement with other former agents, things don’t go as planned. Still seen as a liability by the government, they seek to take Bannerman down and silence him. The first title in this series, The Bannerman Solution, was published in 1989. It feels like it’s begging for the Shane Black treatment. And that’s what it’s going to get courtesy of AMC and Netflix.
The AMC Solution
Why these two companies? Well, AMC realizes that the landscape of television is changing. They figured that if they team up with Netflix to produce, they can save some money and knock out a huge series. When Bannerman airs, it will do so on AMC. Then, 90 days after the season finale airs, it will be available to stream on Netflix. This gives AMC an exclusive show to push for capturing viewers’ attention, as well as a series that Netflix will have good to go for new/returning audiences. It’s a unique approach that likely benefits AMC in a struggling cable environment.
As for us, we’re pumped to see what Black does with this series. We’ll update you with more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, why don’t you go rewatch Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys. Or, to be more honest, go watch it for the first time. Yeah, that’s right. I know you didn’t watch it at the beginning of this article. Can’t put one past Heath Andrews.
