Next up for the month is something that’s been in my Netflix
Watch List for some time. In 2015, AMC aired Into The Badlands, a show that
feels like a mix of Django Unchained, Mad Max, Game of Thrones, and The 36th
Chamber of Shaolin. The show was a bit of a hit and got a longer second season
in 2017. It’s slated to release a third season this year. I had heard of the
show but I never really got around to watching it until now. I wasn’t even sure
if it was still airing on AMC. I was grateful to find the first season on
Netflix.
The show was created by a couple of familiar guys: Alfred
Gough and Miles Millar, the guys behind Smallville. Headlining (and serving as
executive producer) the show is Daniel Wu, an actor I haven’t heard of until
now. From what I’ve looked at online, he’s been pretty busy in a variety of
movies. I didn’t recognize any of the other main cast, though. There were some
guest stars I recognized. They were Stephen Lang, Lance Henrickson, Edi Gathegi,
and Cung Le.
Into The Badlands takes place in a post-apocalyptic future.
Over time, a feudalistic society rose up in this area known as the Badlands. Electricity
and cars are still around but guns have been done away with. Barons control
land and use manual labor to produce resources for the whole territory. They
use soldiers called “Clippers” to carry out their orders. You’d also have wars,
skirmishes, and all that sort between the barons. This ain’t even including the
other bits of randomness in the Badlands.
Our main character is Sunny (Daniel Wu), the lead Clipper of
Baron Quinn. We catch up with him as he finds M.K., a young man who has some
weird abilities. Sunny, who is getting tired of the Clipper life, does what he
can for the kid when he finds out that he’s not from the Badlands. Meanwhile,
others are looking for M.K. especially a baroness called the Widow. While all
of this is going on, we get a weird family drama with Baron Quinn and his
family. Also, wushu theatrics get sprinkled in and it is awesome.