AMC to produce series based on 'Journey to the West'

The AMC cable network in the US has given a straight-to-series order to "Badlands", a martial arts drama based loosely on the Chinese classic novel, "Journey to the West".

"Badlands" will be created by the two producers of "Smallville," Miles Millar and Al Gough.

They will also executive produce the drama with renowned Hong Kong martial arts filmmakers Daniel Wu and Stephen Fung.

The ancient Chinese tale takes place during the Tang dynasty and revolves around a monk named Xuan Zang, who goes on a pilgrimage to find Buddhist scriptures in ancient India with three disciples, who possessed varied supernatural powers.

AMC plans to piece the story into six hour-long episodes.

The drama is slated for a late 2015 or early 2016 premiere.

"Badlands" will be the network's third series to get a straight-to-series order, after "The Walking Dead" and next year's "Breaking Bad" prequel, "Better Call Saul."