US network to produce Chinese-inspired drama series

The film still of Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons. Photos Provided to China Daily

US television network AMC announced it will produce a martial arts drama inspired by the famous classic Chinese tale Journey to the West, South China Morning Post reports.

The series, which is tentatively titled Badlands, will consist of six one-hour episodes. It is set to premiere late next year or early 2016, AMC said on its official website.

The drama is loosely based on the popular 16th-century Chinese fantasy Journey to the West, a story that details pilgrimage of a legendary Buddhist monk who travels west in search of sacred writings, along with the Monkey King and other fantasy characters.

Badlands, on the other hand, tells the story of a warrior and a young boy who embark on an adventure across a dangerous land to find enlightenment.

The series is the network's third "straight-to-series order", after hit zombie show The Walking Dead and a prequel of the Emmy-Award-winning Breaking Bad.

The original series of Journey to the West aired in China in 1986. Since then, it has been remade domestically for at least 8 times, some versions deviating heavily from the original story.

Aside from Journey, different versions of other Chinese classic literature such as A Dream of Red Mansions and Three Kingdoms has also been remade, causing a "chaos" in the television industry.

In 2011, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a ban on remake of the four classics Chinese literature (Journey to the West, A Dream of Red Mansions, Three Kingdoms and The Water Margin), and the ban is still effective in China today.

AMC's reproduction of Journey is created by Smallville's Al Gough and Miles Millar. The screenwriter and producer duo have previously worked with Chinese martial arts elements in films, including the Jackie Chan action-comedy Shanghai Noon and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which stars Jet Li.

Two Hong Kong figures will also join the production team: director Stephen Fung and filmmaker Daniel Wu.

AMC, short for American Movie Classics, is home to some of the most successful TV series.