Māori superhero series, The Dead Lands launches

Māori superhero series The Dead Lands premiered on TVNZ OnDemand tonight. 

The series is full of gore, supernatural themes and martial arts and is made by TVNZ and the same network in the US that made well-known series The Walking Dead. 

The series follows a murdered Māori warrior, who is sent back to the world of the living to redeem his sins.

But the world he 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. 

The series is the first in Aotearoa commissioned directly by a US network.

Executive producer Matthew Metcalfe told 1 News that The Dead Lands is a huge achievement on many levels.

“It is a 100 per cent New Zealand production, a New Zealand story with 100 per cent New Zealand cast and crew,” he says.

The cast is primarily Māori and Mr Metcalfe says he is proud to be associated with a project where the Māori characters are positive, inspiring and powerful.

“I am very proud to see so many young actors in The Dead Lands embracing and celebrating their roles as Māori superheroes.”

The show stars Kirk Torrance (Outrageous Fortune, The Dark Horse), Miriama Smith (Filthy Rich) and Grace Palmer (Shortland Street, Adrift) and Jordi Webber (Power Rangers).

The first two episides of The Dead Lands are now available on TVNZ OnDemand.