For All Mankind and 5 other great, under-watched genre shows you should see

3. Warrior

Of all the shows on this list, this is the one I most wish had more exposure. Warrior is a historical martial arts drama based on an idea from the late Bruce Lee. It follows Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji), a Chinese immigrant who arrives in San Francisco in the 1870s looking for his sister. He ends up getting mixed up with the Hop Wei, a Chinese gang in tension with the rival Long Zii gang. Things escalate over the course of the three seasons currently available to watch on Max, roughly tracing the events of the real-life Tong Wars.

Warrior is so good I cannot believe it’s not a giant hit. The sprawl is impressive, as we meet characters in Chinatown, on the San Francisco police force, in unions and in high society. The cast is excellent, with Koji and Jason Tobin — as the Hop Wei heir apparent Young Jun — deserving particular note. And more than anything, the action is blisteringly terrific. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve shouted “Whoa!” and “Come on!” at the TV as these characters punch, kick, flip and parry. The people behind Warrior know how to mount a good action scene, and to photograph it beautifully.

Perhaps Warrior is underexposed because people don’t know where to find it. The series started its life on Cinemax before transferring over to Max for its third and latest season. We don’t yet know whether the show will return for a fourth, but it is richly deserving of another hurrah or five.