Watch until the end for one hell of a decapitation!
Shudder mixes action, adventure and supernatural horror with new original series “The Dead Lands,” a co-production with New Zealand’s TVNZ that will premiere with two episodes on Thursday, January 23, across all of Shudder’s territories (US, Canada, the UK and Ireland).
It will also air on TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand immediately after its international debut. Subsequent episodes will premiere on both Shudder and TVNZ OnDemand weekly.
You can check out the bloody official trailer below.
“The Dead Lands” features a supernatural adventure set in a mythic Māori past, with an aesthetic that’s part Ash vs Evil Dead and part Xena: Warrior Princess.
The series features a murdered Māori warrior, Waka Nuku Rau (Te Kohe Tuhaka), who’s sent back to the world of the living to redeem his sins. But the world Waka returns to is ravaged by a breach between Life and the Afterlife as the spirits of the newly dead now stalk the land and hunt the living.
Waka encounters a determined young woman, Mehe (Darneen Christian), who becomes both his protégé and moral compass. Together, they navigate tribal politics, the unsettled ghosts of Ancestors and other forces both natural and supernatural, on a quest to discover who “broke the world” and how to repair it—if it’s not too late.
Shudder explains in the press release, “The eerie world of “The Dead Lands” as well as the characters brought to life (or death) within it are inspired by Māori traditions and histories. The series is set in a mythical Aoteoroa (the Māori name for New Zealand), taking full advantage of the natural beauty of its landscapes. The series features screen combat performed in the Māori martial art of Mau Rākau, while elements of action and fantasy throughout the story have been given shape by versions of Māori rituals reimagined for the show. In order to honor the Māori people and their culture, the creation of the series required authoritative Māori control and advice to be present in all areas, both in front of and behind the camera.”
Te Kohe Tuhaka (Monster Problems) stars as “Waka Nuku Rau,” along with Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School senior Darneen Christian in her first television role as “Mehe Te Wehiwehi,” Kirk Torrance (Outrageous Fortune) as “Kā” and Vicky Haughton (Whale Rider, King Kong) as “Turika.” The series is written by Glenn Standring (Six Days) who also wrote the 2014 The Dead Lands feature, which is set in the same mythical world as the series but is unconnected to its characters or story.
The eight-episode series from production company GFC Films is executive produced by Standring, Fraser Brown and Matthew Metcalfe, produced by Tainui Stephens and Liz Adams, and directed by Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger and Michael Hurst.
