AMC is about to tackle a new TV genre this fall: Martial-Arts. Announced at its TCA panel on Friday, the network is planning on premiering its new martial-arts themed drama Into the Badlands this fall and it will be using the apocalyptic juggernaut that is The Walking Dead as the new series’ lead-in:
“‘Into The Badlands’ is an exciting moment for us in that martial arts is not only a new genre for an AMC series, but also one that has been largely absent from television for 15 years,” said Joel Stillerman, president of original programming for AMC and SundanceTV.
AMC’s press release describes the show as follows: “In a land controlled by feudal barons, ‘Into the Badlands’ tells the story of a ruthless, well-trained warrior named Sunny (Daniel Wu) and a young boy named M.K. (Aramis Knight) who embark on a spiritual journey across a dangerous land.”
By the looks of the key art premiered at this year’s Comic-Con, our kung-fu master will also be riding a pretty sweet looking motorcycle:
The series stars Daniel Wu (Tai Chi Zero) as Sunny, Marton Csokas (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King) as Quinn, and Aramis Knight (The Dark Knight Rises) as M.K. AMC went on to praise the quality of martial arts talent exhibited in the new series:
“The team behind ‘Into The Badlands,’ led by showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar, is comprised of some of the best martial artists and martial arts filmmakers in the world, and they have crafted a show that over-delivers against two big goals we set for the show: to create a compelling character drama, and to introduce the highest caliber of martial arts filmmaking to a weekly, ongoing series.”
The series is set to premiere alongside AMC’s new two-week movie event, “AMC FightFest,” which will feature some of the most iconic martial arts movies ever. The marathon will kick off on Monday, November 2, and will air through Friday November 13th.
Into The Badlands will premiere its six-episode first season on Sunday, November 15th at 10:00 pm.
