Siena Yates: The Dead Lands is the Māori supernatural thriller I never knew I needed

Miriama Smith plays Te Paea in The Dead Lands. Photo / Supplied

Growing up, I had a weird obsession with European and American mythology - Greek gods, Celtic druids, Salem witches, all of it - yet I wilfully ignored the mythology of my own culture.

Now though, all that's changed thanks to a new TV show which has shown me why that was such a massive mistake.

The Dead Lands, streaming now on TVNZ On Demand, is a new story set in the same world as the hit 2014 action flick of the same name.

Written by original screenwriter Glenn Standring and made for TVNZ and Shudder - an offshoot of US TV network AMC (famous for shows like the Walking Dead and Into the Badlands) - miraculously it manages to blend those two worlds to create the Māori supernatural thriller I never knew I needed.

Six episodes in (there are two to go, released Thursdays), I can confirm that The Dead Lands follows the most badass heroine ever to hit my screen, Mehe Te Wehiwehi (Darneen Christian), as she teams up with fearsome warrior Waka Nuku Rau (Te Kohe Tuhaka) in a bid to help her father - and the chief of her tribe - who is taken by "dead things".

Waka, on the other hand, has just been brought back from the dead and given one last shot to redeem himself in order to make it into the afterlife with his ancestors, who had shut him out because of the horrible crimes he committed on earth.

If there's one thing I love more than a heroine's saviour arc and an anti-hero's redemption arc, it's an unlikely and reluctant buddy duo, and that's exactly what you get when these two team up.

Their love/hate relationship is a classic trope but the Kiwi spin on the humour that involves makes it all the richer, whether they're out-and-out fighting each other or just shooting each other the kinds of dirty looks that remind you of squabbling with your siblings long after your mum had told you to "cut it out".

The best part about their relationship is that at no point does Mehe's gender ever become an issue between them. In a rare feat for a female-led action story, there's no condescension, special treatment or even sexualisation - there's one scene when Mehe bathes that would typically be that moment, but instead Waka just walks away. Indeed, this has to be one of the first shows in this genre I've seen where the men wear as little - if not less - than the women.

Te Kohe Tuhaka plays murdered Maori warrior Waka Nuku Rau in The Dead Lands. Photo / Supplied

Speaking of gender equality, there's even a scene in which the pair have a heartwarming anti-patriarchy chat about how Mehe should be the leader of her tribe instead of her "fool brother" but can't because of what's "between her legs".

All of this is woven into the dialogue so organically that it feels real and important and not just like a ticking of "wokeness" boxes - especially later in the season when Mehe lays down a challenge so badass that watching it made me feel a little emotional with pride.

The other aspect of The Dead Lands which fills me with pride is the way Māori culture, language, history and mythology take centre stage.

The costumes, tā moko, scenery and weaponry are stunning and we hear everything from karakia to wailing to traditional Māori instruments.

While the majority of the script is in English - to allow accessibility to American audiences - there's still a lot of te reo Māori and more often than not it goes unexplained, leaving some blanks to be filled by context and others for only those in the know to comprehend.

There's also something incredibly powerful about seeing haka used as they were intended, and not just to preface a bunch of grown men throwing a ball around a paddock.

Even the "dead things" - yes, there are zombies because a) it's AMC and b) America - aren't your usual zombies, they're Maiki of Māori lore, fighting for Whiro, God of the underworld in a renewed war with Tāne, God of the forest.

We see beautiful, strong and powerful wāhine as witches of the forest, protecting the land as soldiers for Tāne, chanting in te reo Māori and heralding the power of truth and whānau.

We see the importance of manaakitanga (hospitality), whanaungatanga (whānau connection) and whakapapa (ancestry) in Māori tradition as these concepts keep our heroes alive; there are constant references to cannibalism (shout out to whoever wrote the line about Waka eating his enemy and "shitting him into eternity"); and during a sex scene, we even get an ever-appreciated reference to Hine-nui-te-pō crushing Maui to death with her obsidian vagina in a blending of a cultural representation and feminism that gave me so much life I had to go back and watch it again.

The Dead Lands features screen combat performed in the Maori martial art of Mau Rakau. Photo / Supplied

The Dead Lands delivers everything you'd want from your average Hollywood supernatural action thriller, but wraps it beautifully and carefully in Māori culture and myth to create something the likes of which I've never seen before but really, really hope I might see again.

Our land is full of rich stories and our people are full of history, magic and wonder, and this show is not only making sure the whole world knows it, but it's making sure we don't forget it.

• The Dead Lands is streaming now on TVNZ On Demand.