“Into the Badlands” got off to a strong start in the ratings on Sunday night.
The freshman AMC kung fu series opened to 6.4 million viewers and an impressive 3.1 rating in the advertiser coveted adults 18-49 demographic. It was the second most watched cable telecast on Sunday, behind only its lead in show, “The Walking Dead,” according to Nielsen estimates.
In comparison, “Better Call Saul” premiered in Feb. behind “Walking Dead” to 6.9 million viewers and a 3.4 rating. But “Badlands” did not have the built-in recognition that “Saul” enjoyed thanks to its parent program, “Breaking Bad.”
The series stars Daniel Wu as Sunny, the top soldier for a ruthless tyrant named Quinn (Marton Csokas) in a post-apocalyptic world. Quinn is the most powerful of seven Barons who rule this new world, with each Baron controlling an army of martial artists called clippers.
But when a mysterious boy named M.K. (Aramis Knight) arrives at Quinn’s fortress, Sunny is thrown for a loop when he realizes M.K. might hold the key to his own mysterious past.
“Into the Badlands” airs on AMC on Sundays at 10 p.m./9c.