Natalie Martinez takes lead in Warrior TV series

Natalie Martinez

Something you might have noticed in recent days is the curious scarcity of martial arts in television. That’s certainly not the case on the animated front with the likes of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “The Legend of Korra” on Nickelodeon, but in terms of live-action shows, martial arts doesn’t seem to have that much of a presence on the small screen these days outside perhaps the acclaimed series “Arrow”, which has drawn inspiration for its fight choreography in certain episodes from “The Raid” and includes Michael Jai White, Kelly Hu, and the late Darren Shahlavi among its guest stars. Seeing so little martial arts action as a part of live-action television is especially ironic when one considers that countless millions in the English-speaking world first discovered martial arts through the “Kung Fu” series of the early 1970’s. However, that’s all about to change, thanks in part to the upcoming martial arts themed series “Warrior”.

The show will focus upon Kai Forrester, portrayed by Natalie Martinez, a young woman who find herself thrust into the world of organized crime. Will Yun-lee is set to portray the villain Susano, while Lance Gross also joins the series in the role of former US Navy SEAL Agent Golden. The official synopsis reveals what “Warrior” has in store for audiences:

“In a grounded, contemporary multicultural and sometimes magical milieu, a damaged heroine works undercover with physical and spiritual guidance from a mysterious martial arts master to bring down an international crime lord.”

“Warrior” isn’t the only place where a martial arts resurgence is set to begin on the small screen. AMC is also currently developing “Badlands”, something of a modern retelling of the Chinese classic “Journey to the West”, with Daniel Wu of “Tai Chi Zero” serving as leading man as well as executive producer, and is set to debut in late 2015 or early 2016. Netflix also debuted the series “Marco Polo”, focusing upon the eponymous adventurer’s time in China, this past December, with a second season on the way. Additionally, of the upcoming Marvel Netflix series, two will have a major focus on martial arts – namely, “Daredevil”, set to be released this coming April, and the forthcoming adaptation of “Iron Fist“.

Filmmaker Phillip Noyce will direct the pilot episode of “Warrior”, which is set to get rolling later this year. We’ll be sure to bring you more news on the series as it develops!

Brad Curran

From the earliest days of childhood, Brad Curran was utterly fascinated by martial arts, his passion only growing stronger after spending time living in the melting pot of Asian cultures that is Hawaii. His early exposure developed into a lifelong passion and fascination with all forms of martial arts and tremendous passion for action and martial arts films. He would go on to take a number of different martial arts forms, including Shaolin Ch'uan fa, Taekwondo, Shotokan Karate and remains a devoted student, avid and eager to continue his martial arts studies. Brad is also an aspiring writer and deeply desires to share his love for martial arts and martial arts movies with the world!