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The 8 best martial arts TV shows of all time
From the Wild West to imperial Japan, there are almost endless backdrops for martial artists to showcase their talents
Martial arts remains one of the few subgenres without much presence in the sprawling prestige TV universe. But as streamers have diversified and internationalized their offerings, there are now more options than there were, including these eight standout shows. For our list we have excluded animated offerings, foreign language series that aren’t available in the U.S., as well as shows like the network dramedy “Martial Law” that currently have no streaming home.
‘Kung Fu’ (1972-1975)
Some of the casting decisions, like having David Carradine play a Chinese character that Bruce Lee auditioned for, would not fly today. But the series remains an important cultural marker for the explosion of interest in martial arts in the U.S.
Carradine plays Kwai Chang Caine, a half-American Shaolin monk who flees to the United States in the early 1870s, seeking to find his half-brother, Danny Caine (Tim McIntire). It remains an “unforgettable pop culture phenomenon that blended solid action, engrossing storytelling and the philosophical musings” of Caine’s slain mentor, Master Po (Keye Luke), said Flickering Myth. (Prime Video)
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“Into the Badlands” is set in a violent and bleak post-apocalyptic United States ruled by warlords, whose power is backstopped by hand-to-hand combat warriors called clippers. Daniel Wu (“Geostorm”) is Sunny, a clipper who serves as the right-hand man of Baron Quinn (Marton Csokas).
While fending off attacks from a rival warlord, The Widow (Emily Beecham), Sunny meets M.K. (Aramis Knight), a mysterious boy who may hold the key to a more prosperous future beyond the confines of the badlands. A show that “sort of looks like 1886 but also sort of looks like the future,” it features the “absolute best fighting you’ve seen on TV.” Every fight is a “dramatic tableau set in a picturesque location,” said Brian Moylan at The Guardian. (AMC+)
‘Wu Assassins’ (2019)
Wu Assassins | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube
Indonesian superstar Iko Uwais (“The Raid”) plays Kai Jin, a San Francisco chef based in Chinatown who learns that he is the last in a long line of mystical warriors who must use powers called wu xing to fight the Wu Warlords and prevent them from taking over the city. Kai’s father figure, Uncle Six (Byron Mann), is one of the warlords bent on domination, setting up a Star Wars-esque clash between father and son. A “true treat for any action fan,” the series “grabs you with its flesh-and-blood energy and ambition, offering a spectacle that has become all too rare in action stories these days,” said Nick Allen at Roger Ebert. (Netflix)
‘Warrior’ (2019-2023)
WARRIOR Season 1 Full Trailer | Justin Lin Bruce Lee Cinemax Series - YouTube
In a script based on Bruce Lee’s original (and reportedly stolen) vision, Andrew Koji (“Gangs of London”) is Ah Sahm, a renowned martial artist who arrives in 1870s San Francisco and is immediately plunged into the so-called Tong Wars, mostly street violence between rival gangs in different American Chinatowns. He becomes an enforcer for the Hop Wei tong, a crime family managing smoldering tensions with other clans.
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Dylan Leary (Dean S. Jagger) is an Irish labor leader negotiating rising tensions between the two immigrant communities, and Christian McKay is San Francisco’s mayor, Samuel Blake. Both a propulsive action thriller and a fascinating piece of historical fiction, “Warrior” offers three full seasons of fighting and intrigue. It’s both “gratifying as a platform for representation” of Chinese Americans and “delivers all the adrenaline-pumping martial arts smackdowns one would expect,” said Hanh Nguyen at IndieWire. (HBO Max)
‘My Name’ (2021)
My Name | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB] - YouTube
Ji-woo (Han So-hee) joins the police as a mole for a drug cartel to get revenge for her father’s murder in this Korean drama that remains little known in the U.S. To do so she must work with her father’s associate, Mu-jin (Park Hee-soon), to train and infiltrate law enforcement and find those responsible for her father’s killing.
Stylish and fast-moving, it’s a bit like the police thriller “Infernal Affairs” meets the revenge saga “Oldboy.” ‘My Name’ is an “enthralling and enjoyable revenge thriller” that uses “long, drawn-out sequences and impressive choreography” to build a compelling and slick drama, said Greg Wheeler at The Review Geek. (Netflix)
‘House of Ninjas’ (2024)
House of Ninjas | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube
After losing their son, Gaku (Kengo Kora), in battle, the Tawara family blends back into modern Japanese life and abandons their nights-and-weekends ninja mayhem. Soichi (Yosuke Eguchi), and Yoko (Tae Kimura) are the family leaders who call their children Haru (Kento Kaku) and Nagi (Aju Makita) back into action years later while trying to keep their 8-year-old, Riku (Tenta Banka), in the dark about the family’s true identity. An “unalloyed delight,” the series offers a “marvelous mix of stealthy ninja action, family drama and gentle comedy,” said Peter Martin at Screen Anarchy. (Netflix)
‘Last Samurai Standing’ (2025)
Last Samurai Standing | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube
Shujiro Saga (Junichi Okada) is a down-on-his-luck samurai who receives a mysterious invitation to a tournament in Kyoto with a grand prize of 100,000 Yen, which was quite a lot of money in 1878. Hoping to save his ailing wife and son, Shujiro travels to the Tenryu-ji temple, where the tournament is overseen by Enju (Kazunari Ninomiya).
The catch is that to win, he will have to kill all of the other 291 players, a premise similar to the smash Korean hit “Squid Game.” The show is “fascinating and impressive a production,” its “character-driven” storyline “moves fairly fast, and the production is visually stunning,” said Karina Adelgaard at Heaven of Horror. (Netflix)
‘Song of the Samurai’ (2026)
HBO Just Picked Up THIS Samurai Series… And It Could Be HUGE - YouTube
“The Last Samurai” and FX’s smash hit “Shogun” aren’t the only current dramas to use the backdrop of late imperial Japan. Set in 1859 Japan, Hijikata (Yuki Yamada) is a fighter who encounters a group of men from the Shieikan dojo training facility.
There, he joins Kondo Isami (Nobuyuki Suzuki) and Okita Soji (Kanata Hosoda) to form the famed Shinsengumi samurai, which protects the embattled shogunate of Japan against pressure from the U.S. and other Western powers seeking to open the country to international trade and development. It’s a “sweeping epic that examines a fascinating part of Japanese history and takes the time to delve into the psyches of its characters,” said Sarah Osman at The Arts Fuse. (HBO Max)
David Faris is a professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of "It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics." He's a frequent contributor to Newsweek and Slate, and his work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Republic and The Nation, among others.
![My Name | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZOl7iOrD31Q/maxresdefault.jpg)
