Television series

Into the Badlands

A post-apocalyptic martial arts saga that treats combat like calligraphy. Daniel Wu's Sunny is a lethal assassin bound to a feudal baron, searching for escape and redemption alongside a mysterious gifted boy. Visually stunning, philosophically ambitious, and relentlessly inventive—for viewers who want their action sequences to mean something.

TVMaze rating4.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love martial arts choreography shot with a stylish, almost comic-book sheen, and you don't mind a story that mixes swordplay with feudal court intrigue and a loose, mythic road-trip shape.

Skip it if you want a tight, grounded plot; the mythology gets sprawling, the early episodes lean on a lot of setup, and the tone shifts between brutal and playful more than some viewers can take.

What it asks of you: Three seasons of roughly an hour each, so it is a real commitment; the pace is uneven, with long stretches of world-building before the fights arrive and reward you.

If you liked this

The Witcher2019

Epic scope and style meet intimate character work. A monster hunter bound by fate, supernatural intrigue, and fight choreography that's genuinely thrilling. Henry Cavill's grounded performance anchors the chaos beautifully.

But The first season requires patience with nonlinear storytelling and can feel scattered before it clicks. Some episodes prioritize lore over momentum.

The Witcher poster

Warrior2019

A martial arts drama about family, honor, and survival in 1870s San Francisco with jaw-dropping fight scenes. Bruce Lee's story treated with the gravity and craft it deserves. Every episode crackles.

But Brutally violent and emotionally intense. The pacing in season two slows considerably; some viewers find the narrative meandering.

Warrior poster

Avatar: The Last Airbender2005

Action, philosophy, and character development woven seamlessly across a richly imagined world. Bending is what martial arts looks like in animation. Genuinely moves you by the end. A complete story, perfectly told.

But It's animated and on Nickelodeon, so some assume it's only for kids. The live-action remake exists and should be avoided entirely.

Avatar: The Last Airbender poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Into the Badlands

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Kung Fu2021

Both center a reluctant warrior discovering gifts they inherited, bound by family loyalty to figures they must eventually oppose. The internal conflict mirrors the external battles.

A Chinese-American woman returns to San Francisco to reclaim her family's legacy and fight the crime syndicates destroying her community. Martial arts meets generational trauma; every fight carries emotional weight. Criminally underrated.

But Cancelled after one season on cliffhanger. The CW's budget shows, and the mystical elements feel slightly uneven compared to the grounded family drama.

Kung Fu poster
More like this (8)

Peaky Blinders2013

Post-war Birmingham crime family saga with operatic ambition and style for days. Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy chew scenery like artists. Atmospheric, violent, and unexpectedly moving about broken men trying to build empires.

But Accents and period slang can be hard to follow. Later seasons lose focus, and the ending feels truncated by cancellation.

Peaky Blinders poster

The Midnight Club2022

Seven strangers in a hospice share their deepest fears through ghost stories. Gorgeously shot, inventive storytelling, and surprisingly tender about mortality and connection. Mike Flanagan's best work visually and emotionally.

But Heavy themes around death and illness. The final episode revelation divides viewers, and some stories land better than others.

The Midnight Club poster

Arcane: League of Legends2021

Animated crime drama with animation that's genuinely breathtaking. Two sisters, a divided city, and magic born from oppression. The emotional stakes build until you're devastated. Each episode is a statement.

But Based on a video game, which puts some off. The pacing in the middle section falters, and you're left wanting more resolution than it provides.

Arcane: League of Legends poster

Kill Bill: Vol. 12003

A masterclass in visual storytelling through action. Every fight is geometry and music. Uma Thurman's journey is mythic and intimate simultaneously. Tarantino's most purely stylish work.

But Cartoonish ultraviolence; the tone shifts jarringly from comedy to tragedy. Vol. 2 is necessary but very different.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 poster

Dune2021

Epic sci-fi that trusts visual language over exposition. Denis Villeneuve builds dread and scale beautifully. Paul's journey echoes Sunny's—a young person discovering dangerous gifts they never wanted. Visually transcendent.

But The first part ends mid-story. Requires patience; long stretches prioritize atmosphere over plot momentum.

Dune poster

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire2013

A young person caught between warring factions, forced into violence by systems beyond their control. Strong action sequences, genuine stakes, and a protagonist learning to weaponize her existence against her captors.

But The first film is better. Katniss's arc is thinner than the political machinery around her, and the love triangle drags.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire poster

The Peripheral2022

Both follow someone from the margins discovering they're key to larger power struggles. A journey toward understanding one's own significance, not just physical prowess.

A woman in rural North Carolina is pulled into a game that turns out to be real warfare across time. Sci-fi mystery with Westworld's conceptual ambition but better plotting. Visually distinctive; genuinely gripping.

But Demands active attention; the timeline mechanics confuse many viewers. The second season hasn't aired and may never. Amazon's marketing was invisible.

The Peripheral poster

Harakiri1962

Both interrogate martial codes and the men bound by them. Sunny's quest for freedom mirrors the samurai's entrapment—but where Into the Badlands finds transcendence, Harakiri finds only the system's cruelty. A necessary counterpoint in tone and conclusion.

A masterpiece about honor, ritual, and the cost of violence. A samurai arrives seeking ritual suicide; the film becomes a devastating critique of the systems that demand it. Composition and editing are flawless. Deeply moving without sentimentality.

But Black-and-white, slow, and intellectually rigorous rather than visceral. The suicide sequences are unflinching and may trigger viewers. No action in the modern sense.

Harakiri poster

People

Cast

Writing

Production

Recommended by