Into the Badlands takes their fight choreography to a whole other level and brings something new to American television.

Into the Badlands stars Daniel Wu as Sunny. The synopsis for the series is fairly straightforward: “A mighty warrior and a young boy search for enlightenment in a ruthless territory controlled by feudal barons.”

Dystopian worlds are nothing new to television (or AMC for that matter), but the difference with Into the Badlands is the care they take in setting up and executing the fight sequences on the show. It’s something we have rarely — if ever — seen on American television.

In an interview conducted in November by Vanity Fair, Wu explains how AMC allowed for the show to become a hybrid of sorts. On the one hand, it’s a martial arts show that will clearly appeal to audiences in the East. On the other hand, the character-driven story will sit well with Western audiences. Blending these two aspects together will allow for a broader audience to enjoy the show as a whole.

In many ways, Wu is the mastermind behind this brilliant — and hopefully winning — combination. VF explains how Wu was hired as an executive producer to make sure the martial arts was authentic, and then was cast as the main character.

But the authenticity and care taken with the fight sequences does not stop with Wu; it extends to the entire cast and crew.

The main cast was subjected to a fight camp for six weeks, nine hours a day, ahead of filming to make sure they were all able to handle the fight choreography flung their way. Luckily, everyone was in great hands. Master Dee Dee oversaw everyone’s training, and with the credentials he has for big-budget martial arts films like Kill Bill, The Matrix, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, AMC was lucky to get him.

Much like the show, the fight camp blended many elements into their daily routine in order to prepare the actors and background stunt workers for their roles. They didn’t just work on fight choreography, but also discussed what would look best on camera while staying true to the roots of the various types of martial arts the show was employing.

AMC has a trio of videos on their website depicting the intensity and thoughtfulness of this fight camp, led by Master Dee Dee. In the first one, depicted below, we see just how important it was that Master Dee Dee was a part of Into the Badlands.

The second video, Action Unit Director and Executive Producer Stephen Fung says, “The level of authenticity in terms of martial arts is actually very crucial to the show, and that is the reason why the studio is bringing [Fung and his team] to the U.S. to direct the action.”

Wu also weighs in, describing why Into the Badlands is so different from anything else we’ve seen on television here in the States. “In the normal, American action, you would just film that one reaction [to a punch or kick] separately,” he says. “But [with] this one, we’re trying to do it all in one shot.”

This is part of what makes Into the Badlands a show that incorporates the “Hong Kong style.” “Really what it means,” Wu explains, “is the pace of the action and trying to allow the performers to perform what they can, all they can do in one shot, and then break it down in as little shots as possible so that you allow the performer to perform and not the editing to do the fight for you. And this is what we’re saying — most American audiences have not seen that on screen yet, especially on television, and so that’s what were trying to bring, that dynamic appeal, to the small screen.”

In the third and final video documenting the fight camp, Fung explains, “Our goal on Into the Badlands is to showcase martial arts in a way that’s never been attempted in American television before.” They, of course, want it to be visually stunning, but they also want to make sure the foundation is there as well. “We want them to have the spirit of a true martial artist,” he adds.

Into the Badlands also does an excellent job of creating a myriad of characters with various fighting skills, whether man or woman, boy or girl. The Widow is one character that stands out, as she is one of the most skilled fighters on the show.

The Widow could have easily been made into a hypersexualized character who uses her wits and feminine charm to get men to do her bidding for her. Instead, she uses those aspects to make her enemies complacent while she goes in for the kill — literally.

The below video is one in a series called “Anatomy of a Fight,” in which the cast and crew break down how they choreographed and filmed some of the biggest fight sequences. Since this is first time we’re seeing the Widow in action, it was important to showcase not only her martial arts abilities, but to portray her character. Every movement and every choice within the fight is there on purpose to relay to the audience what kind of person the Widow truly is.

In an interview with AMC, Emily Beechum describes the reactions to her character being positive: “Both men and women have messaged me and said how strong she is and how cool it is to watch her. That’s refreshing because why shouldn’t a woman have a strong role that might typically be considered more masculine?”

This seems to be a theme for many of the women on the show, who tend to be strong, independent, intelligent, and capable women, regardless of whether or not they enter a fight with a sword or just their wits.

Even Tilda, the Widow’s protégé, gets in on the action, at one time proving herself able to take down a fully grown man in just a few moves.

AMC also spoke with Alexia Ioannides about the younger character, who says of Tilda, “I really hoped that female fans could identify with her. I think that’s why she’s so great. She also represents a really true and honest portrayal of adolescence, especially with all of the conflict that she goes through. Even though the world is very romanticized and dystopian, I can still relate.”

In the end, Into the Badlands isn’t going to be a show for everyone. However, if you like a little fight in your television shows, just know that Badlands is doing the best they can to keep the sequences visually interesting while also paying homage to the craft.

Though nothing has yet to be officially announced, Daniel Wu confirmed (and later retracted) a possible Into the Badlands season 2. It’s clear there’s still plenty of story to tell, so we can only hope AMC will greenlight the show for a second run.

Into the Badlands airs Sunday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET on AMC.