New Images from Shudder's 'The Dead Lands' Showcase a Brutal World

While we wait for The Dead Lands to premiere on Shudder later this month, the streaming service has released a cache of photos showcasing the brutal world of the new series...

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...Directed by Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger and Michael Hurst and written by Glenn Standring, The Dead Lands is a new 8-episode series set in mythic New Zealand that will premiere later this month exclusively through all Shudder territories (US, Canada, UK and Ireland), as well as TVNZ On Demand in New Zealand. The Dead Lands is the first genre TV showcase of Māori mythic storytelling and martial traditions, created by a mainly Māori cast with significant Māori involvement at all levels of the production. Today, Shudder released a ton of new photos from the show, which you can check out below, along with the trailer.

From the Press Release: 

"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.

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."

Says producer Tainui Stephens, “The modern Māori world thrives because our story traditions insist we respect the past before we explore the potential of the future. With THE DEAD LANDS, we're proud to bring our people and those traditions to global audiences."

​The Dead Lands stars Te Kohe Tuhaka (Monster Problems), Darneen Christian, Kirk Torrance (Outrageous Fortune) and Vicky Haughton (King Kong). The series hails from production company GFC Films and is executive produced by Standring, Fraser Brown and Matthew Metcalfe, and produced by Tainui Stephens and Liz Adams.

The Dead Lands will premiere the first two episodes of the series on January 23rd, with subsequent episodes dropping every Thursday after that. 

By Matt Konopka