Many people would squirm at the very thought of an American Monkey King, while some might welcome it as a creative idea. But no matter what people think, Journey to the West is set to be made into an American TV series.

Titled Badlands, the series will be produced by AMC and will hit the small screen next year or in early 2016. According to AMC, actors-directors Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu will join the production team to give shape to the TV series based on one of the "Four Great Classical Novels" of Chinese literature.

Compared with the other three great novels (Outlaws of the Marshes, Romance of the Thee Kingdoms and Dream of the Red Mansion), Journey to the West has been a favorite of filmmakers, according to a survey. In fact, 96 percent respondents to the survey said they have seen one or more such adaptations.