‘Into the Badlands’ is a great new show

Carl E. Littleberry Jr., Reporter

In the summer of 2015, the AMC (American Movie Classics) channel announced a new series they said would rival the already critically acclaimed “The Walking Dead.” On Nov. 15, 2015, they delivered on that lofty promise with their new post-apocalyptic concoction titled “Into the Badlands.”

ITB or “Badlands” for short, is a kung-fu based drama surrounding two main characters, Sunny, played by Danny Wu, and M.K., played by Aramis Knight. Sunny is a regent or “head clipper” for the Baron and is in charge of maintaining peace and order within the Baron’s territory in the Badlands.

Before I explain who the Baron is and why he owns territory in the Badlands, you first have to know what the Badlands even are.

The Badlands is an isolated island cut off from the rest of the world that has succumbed to an unknown plague which has killed off nearly the entire human population. In the Badlands, there are people who have constructed territories, or what I think are safe havens, for humans to live in that separate them from the dangers of wild animals or bandits. In total, there have been four of the seven leaders of the territories mentioned, however the most prominent two are the Baron and the Widow.

The Widow is the main antagonist of the first season, as she is trying to find and kidnap M.K. so she can control an amazingly cool hidden power M.K. possesses. I don’t want to ruin it for you, but just picture basic shadow powers like Spawn with a huge power-up for all my anime geeks out there.

There’s even a love story for those of you who don’t like too much action and bloody swordplay, and believe me there’s a butt load of special effects and cool sword fights that will literally knock your freaking socks off.

I expected that, considering the directors, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, also directed many Jackie Chan movies such as “Shanghai Noon” and “Shanghai Nights.” If that doesn’t get you hyped up, these are also the guys responsible for “Smallville.” What more do you need to convince you to watch?

So far, only six episodes have been aired, with more scheduled to come out in the coming weeks. However, I was a fan after the first 15 minutes, and I am 1000 percent sure if you don’t like it, then you probably just hate good T.V.

So all in all, it’s a great new show with a nice premise that I feel many people will be able to grasp easily. With all the potential for character development and plot points, the show is leaving room for it to continue and improve. It’s a must watch in my opinion and if you don’t have AMC, get it, so you can watch ASAP.