AMC Orders Martial Arts Drama BADLANDS Straight to Series

AMC today announced a straight-to-series order for the martial arts drama "Badlands" (working title). "Badlands" joins "The Walking Dead" and the "Breaking Bad" prequel "Better Call Saul" as AMC's only straight-to-series orders.

"Badlands" is a genre-bending martial arts series very loosely based on the classic Chinese tale "Journey to the West." 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.

AMC has ordered six, one-hour episodes, with an expected premiere in late 2015 or early 2016. The project was created by writers/show runners Al Gough and Miles Millar ("Shanghai Noon," "Smallville"). They'll serve as exec producers along with Oscar-Nominated producers Stacy Sher and Michael Shamberg ("Pulp Fiction," "Contagion") and master martial arts filmmakers Daniel Wu ("Tai Chi Zero") and Stephen Fung.

"We are incredibly excited to help Al and Miles, as well as Stacey and Michael from Double Feature to bring Badlands to life," said Joel Stillerman, AMC's executive Vice president of original programming, production and digital content. "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. Along with a beautiful story, they've also assembled the A-Team of martial arts fight choreography in Daniel Wu and Stephen Fung."

From AMC Studios, "Badlands" will be distributed internationally by Entertainment One Television (eOne).

About AMC

Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade, or creating acclaimed original programming, AMC brings to its audience something deeper, something richer, Something More. The network reigns as the only cable network in history ever to win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, and four of the last five with the current Outstanding Drama Series honoree, "Breaking Bad." The network boasts the most-watched drama series in basic cable history and the number one show on television among adults 18-49 for the last two years with "The Walking Dead." AMC's original drama series include "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad," "The Walking Dead," "Hell on Wheels," "Turn," "Halt and Catch Fire" and the forthcoming "Breaking Bad" prequel, "Better Call Saul." AMC also explores authentic worlds with bold characters through its slate of unscripted original series like "Comic Book Men," "Small Town Security," "Talking Dead," "Game of Arms" and "Freakshow." AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, SundanceTV, and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Something More.

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