Common Sense Media Review
By Kari Croop
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fictional future has no guns but runs on sex and violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Into the Badlands
What's the Story?
Set in a postapocalyptic future where guns no longer exist, INTO THE BADLANDS follows seasoned warrior Sunny (Daniel Wu) and the mysterious M.K. (Aramis Knight), a young teen with dark powers and a price on his head, on a shared quest of self-discovery that will change their lives forever. But facing the wrath of two rival Barons (Marton Csokas and Emily Beecham) as they move through the Badlands' seven territories will take every shred of skill they have between them.
Is It Any Good?
Is it a martial-arts epic? A postapocalyptic western? A fable set in a future that looks curiously like the Old South? Whatever it is, it doesn't really matter: It's all about the fighting anyway. And with that fighting comes blood -- a lot of blood -- sliding Into the Badlands inches away from TV-MA territory without ever technically being there. From Breaking Bad to The Walking Dead, AMC is known for pushing edgy material, and this genre-bending drama is no exception.
Thanks to action scenes staged by acclaimed martial-arts choreographer Ku Huen Chiu (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Into the Badlands has authentic Hong Kong-style kung fu credentials, and it's doing something unique by bringing a serial martial-arts drama to the small screen. But the target audience here is admittedly small --and it probably shouldn't include your kids.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Into the Badlands' fight scenes and how the visuals compare to those of other TV dramas. Is the show aiming for realism, fantasy, or something in between? How much blood is too much, and where should networks draw the line when it comes to violence?
How do women in In the Badlands measure up to men in terms of political power and physical strength, and how do the female characters rate as role models? Are the Badlands' fictional power and social structure radically different from that of the world we live in?
How does Into the Badlands tie its fictional world to the historical realities of Southern culture and slavery? Which similarities do you see, and is there any significance?
TV Details
- Premiere date : November 15, 2015
- Cast : Marton Csokas , Daniel Wu , Emily Beecham
- Network : AMC
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic )
- TV rating :
- Last updated : January 28, 2025
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