AMC has become a bona fide hit maker.

Al Gough and Miles Millar have been creating something different and significant here.

Whats it feel like to be contributing to all of that in a big way?

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MILES MILLAR:Its always great.

I feel like withSmallvillewe were certainly out in front of the superhero resurgence what happened.

I think for us we always loved the genrethe first two films we wrote wereShanghai NoonandLethal Weapon 4.

Its been a real passion project of ours.

This is not some formulaic show.

It feels very arbitrary.

We wanted the martial arts to be really integral to the story and the storytelling.

AL GOUGH:Oh for sure.

Its interesting because obviously people that love the genre do love video games.

So thats something that we definitely wanted to do.

And also I think it helps the viewer settle into this world.

Youre asking a lot when you jump into this world.

There are so many things coming at you!

Then, in season two, youll be able to go out and see much more of it.

DEN OF GEEK:Okay, because I was going to ask about that.

MILES MILLAR:We really see this as almost a giant pilota giant first episode.

DEN OF GEEK:The choreography of the fight scenes in your show is just breathtaking.

Also David Dobkin who directed the first three episodes, who we worked with onShanghai Knights.

The Widow, thats the Wheelchair Fight.

We wanted our fights to pay homage to specific movies and its all very deliberate.

So we have fights that take seven days to shoot sometimes.

Were really rebelling here.

From the inception that was what this show was going to be about.

It was going to be about really bringing authentic style Hong Kong martial arts to American television.

DEN OF GEEK:No, and its absolutely necessary.

you’ve got the option to feel it right from the moment the show begins, too.

Do you have a preference between the two?

So when we come to a location they can turnanythinginto a weapon.

And that requires switching out the weapons as well as the styles.

DEN OF GEEK: Oh very cool.

But thats something we definitely want to do.

That was one that we had to put back on the shelf for season two.

DEN OF GEEK:I just wanted to single out the foley work on your show in particular.

Was this something you were very particular about going into the series?

MILES MILLAR:Yes.

We knew that an unbelievable sound team that really went to every length.

Its remarkable in terms of the sword strikes, weaponry, the blows…

It really is such an additive and so important.

DEN OF GEEK:So true.

Ive never seen something so intense before on TV.

Its one of the first things I noticed about it and it truly sets it apart.

You guys are also developing theShannaraseries, which premieres in January.

What are you hoping to say with this show and why do you think its an important property?

MILES MILLAR:WellShannarais not for the faint of heart either.

MILES MILLAR:It doesnt shy away.

Its not a PG world.

People die in that world.

They die very brutally and we wanted to see to it that our fantasy world feelsreal.

We fell in love with Terry BrooksShannaraseries and thought it would make for an amazing season of television.

At its core are these three young heroes who we thought would really be dynamic television characters.

The story was very compelling to us.

MILES MILLAR:Oh absolutely, and we sort of based it on pre-feudal Japanese societies.

For us, the inspiration for the society really sprung from Japanese samurai movies.

Movies that we love, and have re-watched and re-watched.

That was our model but we really wanted to ensure that the show felt distinctively American.

That it was set in America.

That it wasnt pseudo Asia.

Its a world thats been reconfigured and remade in this medieval Japanese mode.

This strategy is printing money now and this long-game vision is becoming the norm.

Would you mind elaborating a bit on just how much things have changed since then?

AL GOUGH:Its interesting.

But at the time the CW wasnt interested in the genre.

These are the shows that our audience loves, and why dont we double down on that?

Its sort of amusing that we had the Flash first onSmallville.

DEN OF GEEK:I know!

MILES MILLAR:The Arrow…

AL GOUGH:We had the Arrow.

We did the Justice League episode [Justice]!

DEN OF GEEK:You did!

AL GOUGH:That was fantastic.

MILES MILLAR:And we were very proud of our Aquaman pilot.

We thought it would have been an awesome series, and I think a big hit.

Luckily fans, and people, and audiences have embraced it again with their dollars and their eyeballs.

If you had your dream picks who would they be?

MILES MILLAR:Wed absolutely love to do that.

But I mean, wed love to see Jackie Chan, Sammo Huang, Jet Li, Donnie Yen.

Michelle Yeoh would be really incredible.

What we love about this show are its really strong female characters.

Even someone like Rhonda Rousey

AL GOUGH:Yeah, AMA fighters would be great.

Its definitely something were always talking aboutweve shut the door on no one.

Even if some are long shots, we still want to see what we could do.

MILES MILLAR:Wed love to do that, yeah.

With success thats something that we could really explore and make happen.