Shudder’s new supernatural fantasy adventure series “The Dead Lands” is ready to premiere later this month.
Set in a mythical Aotearoa—New Zealand in a time before time. A dishonored warrior, Waka Nuku Rau dies, but his Ancestors in the Afterlife send him back to the world to find redemption and honor. There, in the world of the living, he is aided by Mehe, a determined young woman, and together they discover the world has been disrupted by forces, not of the living.
Someone, or something, is preventing the dead from entering the Afterlife and now the dead are thrown back into their decaying bodies to hunt the living.“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.
Directed by Peter Meteherangi, Tikao Burger and Michael Hurst, “The Dead Lands” stars Te Kohe Tuhaka (Monster Problems) as “Waka Nuku Rau,” 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 created and written by Glenn Standring (Six Days) who also wrote 2014’s The Dead Lands feature film, 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.
Episodes 1 & 2 will premiere on Shudder in the U.S., Canada, UK, and Ireland on January 23rd, with subsequent episodes premiering every Thursday.
