AMC goes direct to Badlands

US cablenet AMC has given a straight-to-series order to a martial arts drama from the team behind superhero show Smallville.

Badlands (working title, 6×60’) is loosely based on Journey to the West, a Chinese novel from the 16th century that follows a warrior and a boy who team up for an adventure across a dangerous land.

The series was created by Smallville showrunners/writers Al Gough and Miles Millar, both of whom will executive produce.

Also exec producing are Oscar-nominated producers Stacy Sher and Michael Shamberg (Pulp Fiction) and master martial arts filmmakers Daniel Wu (Tai Chi Zero) and Stephen Fung.

AMC announced the series as part of its Television Critics’ Association presentation at the weekend. Badlands is set to premiere in late 2015 or early 2016.