Sherman Augustus talks 3B, the fans and the legacy of Into the Badlands

Into the Badlands star Sherman Augustus gets you prepared for the next 8 episodes, and teases that this may not be the end. #SaveTheBadlands

Sherman Augustus was an instant fan favorite when he first graced our screens as the honorable swordsman Nathaniel Moon on Into the Badlands. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Sherman ahead of the two-night 3B premiere.

Hidden Remote: I definitely hate talking about it but by now everyone knows that AMC decided to cancel the show. How did you get the news and what was your reaction? 

Sherman Augustus: It was funny because the day before, we all got emails from AMC asking us to get ready to start posting stuff on social media. They sent us a bunch of pics and hashtags to use on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, the whole nine yards. When they sent that to us they said we couldn’t post them until 4 p.m. Central Time so I posted, something like: “Big news coming tomorrow, can’t wait to tell you guys.” all positive!

So then the show gets canceled and people are like, oh that was the news? So yeah it was shocking but these are things that happen in television. I was under the understanding, with the break, that they were doing what they do with The Walking Dead. Something in the Spring, something in the Fall. I was hearing about spin-offs so it was like, ok maybe one show has to go because it is a very expensive show to shoot.

I can’t fault them for that. They gave us everything we needed. Production didn’t want for anything. They gave us all the resources we needed and it shows. We’re still going out on a high note.

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It was such a happy place to work. That makes it hurt, you know. It hit’s you right there but we put in the work and I think we’ll go out on top. I don’t think it’s completely over yet to tell you the truth. There’s a couple of surprises probably coming. The fan response for the next eight episodes I think we all know will be really killer. We really enjoyed putting it together because we were doing it for our fan base. It was a really cool show to do and it’s on Netflix now so more people can discover the show. I made it a whole big thing but it is kind of emotional.

HR: I think part of the pain for me is watching people get into the show after it hits Netflix and knowing the fan-base is growing. 

I’ve always wondered this because I watch a lot of TV and a lot of shows I watch get cancelled. How do you navigate the uncertainty, as an actor, in between hearing that your show is cancelled and knowing that people are fighting to save it. How do you choose what jobs to take in the meantime or what jobs turn down?

SA: That’s very interesting. Everything has been stacked up against Badlands for me. This show has allowed me to apply my skills as an actor. It has allowed me to achieve and reach every range and show range as an actor. I consider myself an actor who wants to challenge himself and try to surprise myself. I like to stretch my acting muscles as much as I can. I read a bunch of scripts and I was having a conversation with my agent a couple of weeks ago.

We were discussing the whole fact of okay I’m not trying to actually stack everything up against Badlands, there’s actually nothing out there. So there are some other good shows that are coming up right now and we’ve been talking. I won’t mention them right now. One or two of them have some Badlands alumni. I’ll keep everyone informed about that as I get closer but it’s really hard to navigate. Scripts come at you and roles but once your set on something that’s what you’re set on.

HR: The first time we spoke you mentioned how being on the show has made you become more involved with social media. 

SA: Yeah.

HR: You seem like a natural to me.

SA: No, hey! Haha.

HR: Is it something you think is a part of who you are now?

SA: As far as the Badlands Community, absolutely. I’m friends for life with those folks and I really appreciate everyone, the people who are on the #SaveTheBadlands campaign, everything. They are very important to me. As an actor to achieve something that I could put a smile on someone’s face and make them feel better, that’s my purpose.

I will be friends with those folks forever. I will continue to wish them happy birthday every birthday, and I try to do that with everyone. We all do, we all appreciate the fans. This cult following that we have I mean that’s what you want as an actor. You want to be part of something that will outlive you actually. This show will outlive me.

HR: That touches on where I wanted to go next. When it is over, what do you want the legacy of the show, or what do you want your legacy as Moon to be? How do you want to be remembered?

SA: Of course it’s the fact that [Moon’s] very honorable. Within the next eight episodes there’s a couple of things that happen that I was fairly happy to see. As bloody and as gory as it’s going to get, and we’re going to lose certain individuals, it’s still for me and for the other cast members a warm fuzzy feeling. I think we achieved exactly what we wanted to achieve and I feel good about that. I hope the legacy is any time anyone speaks about the show they’re ecstatic about it.

Did you see that show? That show was so great! It’ll be the equivalent of me when I was growing up and I was watching Hill Street Blues. I loved it. I mean we all had our favorite shows so if we can go down in history as a show with this awesome cult following and we brought some entertainment to folks, especially fans of martial arts, then we’ve done our job and that’s good enough for me. That’s like winning the Super Bowl actually.

HR: Finally, the 3B Premiere. Two episodes, back-to-back days, huge event, what can you say to prepare us for what we’re going to see in these next eight episodes?

SA: Edge of your seat drama and action and a lot of questions from all three seasons will start to wrap up in those next two episodes. More folks are going to be coming in so it’s going to get real complicated. There are a couple more twists that are going to be applied and yeah, thinking about it right now it’s going to be epic. It’s going to start off epic. It really is. I don’t think there’s a dull episode within the next eight. They put the pedal to the metal and they cut the brake lines. Oh yeah they did.

Into the Badlands returns tonight with the first episode of the 3B premiere, with episode two airing tomorrow night. Tweet #SaveTheBadlands during the show to support the campaign.