“This creative team has so much expertise in bringing a fresh take to classic genres from their film and television experience, and their take on martial arts will be no exception,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s executive vice president of original programming, production and digital content. The cable network said the show will be created by Al Gough and Miles Millar in partnership with Stacy Sher of Pulp Fiction, Michael Shamberg of Contagion and master martial arts filmmakers Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu.ĪMC, fresh off its smash hit “Mad Men,” a drama chronicling the lives of employees at a 1950s ad agency, said it hopes “Badlands” can replicate that show’s success. The series’ title may conjure up images of Martin Sheen in Terrence Malik’s 1973 film of the same name, but this version of “Badlands” will tell “the story of a warrior and a young boy who travel across a dangerous land controlled by feudal barons to find enlightenment,” said AMC. The martial arts drama will be titled “Badlands” and is slated for a late 2015 or early 2016 premiere. The cable network announced Friday that it plans to produce six, one-hour episodes loosely based on the Journey to the West, a famed Chinese tale in which a ragtag group of adventurers including a monkey with supernatural powers and a creature who’s half human, half pig travel west to procure a set of holy scriptures.
television network AMC AMCX +0.61% hopes so.
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The pickup comes just hours after MTV ordered its adaptation of Shannara - also a straight to series addition - with a 10-episode commitment.ĪMC’s Successor to Don Draper: The Monkey King ()Ī monkey dressed as a character from Journey to the West is pictured at a zoo in Shenyang, Liaoning province on May 10, 2014.Ĭan viewers suffering from “Mad Men” withdrawal seek solace in a 16th-century Chinese fable? U.S. The network also is working on a Walking Dead companion series, which it is also eyeing for 2015.įor Gough and Millar, Badlands becomes their second series on the air and the second one ordered on Friday.
Neither series has broken through in a major way as AMC looks to replace Breaking Bad and the exiting Mad Men.īadlands joins a scripted roster that also includes veteran Hell on Wheels and dramas Knifeman, Galyntine and We Hate Paul Revere, the latter three of which are in the pilot stage. While Revolutionary War drama Turn was renewed for a second season, a decision on critical darling but ratings underperformer Halt has yet to be made. Along with a beautiful story, they've also assembled the A-Team of martial arts fight choreography in Daniel Wu and Stephen Fung."įor AMC, Badlands comes at a good time for the network, which has seen its latest two original scripted dramas - Turn and Halt and Catch Fire - stumble out of the gate. "This creative team has so much expertise in bringing a fresh take to classic genres from their film and television experience, and their take on martial arts will be no exception. "We are incredibly excited to help Al and Miles, as well as Stacey and Michael from Double Feature to bring Badlands to life,” said AMC exec vp original programming Joel Stillerman.
Entertainment One will handle international distribution.īadlands becomes AMC's third show picked up straight to series at the network, joining Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul and ratings hit The Walking Dead. The drama was created by writers-showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville), who will exec produce alongside Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg (Pulp Fiction) and martial arts filmmakers Daniel Wu (Tai Chi Zero) and Stephen Fung. The home of Mad Men and The Walking Dead has ordered six hourlong episodes of the drama from AMC Studios for a premiere in late 2015 or 2016. In a land controlled by feudal barons, Badlands tells the story of a great warrior and a young boy who embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment. The cable network on Friday announced a straight-to-series pickup for martial arts drama Badlands.īadlands is described as a genre-bending martial arts series very loosely based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West.
UPDATED: The drama hails from "Smallville" duo Al Gough and Miles Millar and marks their second straight-to-series order in a day. AMC Orders Martial Arts Drama 'Badlands' Straight to Series ()