NENT Studios UK confirms ‘The Dead Lands’ to be its first drama acquisition since the recent incorporation and rebranding of DRG. The eight-hour fantasy-action-adventure series was produced by New Zealand’s GFC Films for TVNZ and AMC’s Shudder SVOD service and premiered on TVNZ earlier this year, producing high ratings. NENT Studios UK acquired the rights from GFC Films, who had reclaimed the rights from Kew Media Distribution. “’The Dead Lands’ is a unique new series, combining brilliant action-adventure and mythical Maori culture with stunning locations and more than a touch of humor,” Dave Clarke, NENT Studios UK’s EVP of Content said. “It presents a totally fresh take on the popular ‘undead’ and ‘quest’ genres and, judging by its initial reviews, is destined to be an international hit, especially with young adult audiences. We are delighted to have acquired the rights and are excited to start talking to broadcasters and platforms worldwide.”
“The Dead Lands” was co-created by writer/creator Glenn Standring, known for her work in “6 Days” and “Perfect Creature,” alongside Executive Producer/Creator Matthew Metcalfe (‘My Talks with Dean Spanley’). The show is not directly connected to the characters and story of a popular film that shares the same name, which is also written by Standring and produced by GFC Films. But rather, "The Dead Lands" represents an expansion of the mythical universe created with the film, with the storyline set sometime after the original events. The series stars Vicky Haughton from “Whale Rider” and “King Kong,” Calvin Tuteao from “Once Were Warriors” and “Top of the Lake,” and Kirk Torrance from “Wilde Ride” and “Filthy Rich.”
“The Dead Lands” takes place in mythological Aoteoroa-New Zealand, telling the story of Waka Nuku Rau, a dishonored warrior who dies, but whose ancestors in the afterlife send him back to the world. In search of redemption and honor, he lands in the “living world,” where he is aided by Mehe, a newcomer Darneen Christian and determined young woman, and together they discover the world has been disrupted by forces, not of the living.
Waka and Mehe then go on a long and intense journey to discover who created the rift between the world of the living and the world of the dead. In the end, they discover that they are part of a battle between the gods themselves for control of the earth.