The first two seasons of the AT&T Original Series Kingdom make their way onto DVD this week in a special 9-disc set, which will be exclusively available at Walmart until August 1. The first 10-episode season of the series had previously been available via Manufacture-on-Demand, but now Shout! Factory has released all 30-episodes of the first two seasons in a single, standard DVD set, and at a lower price than the original first season only MOD release!

Kingdom is set in the world of MMA fighting, and while each season features some matches, the series focuses more on the family drama behind-the-scenes. Alvey Kulina (Frank Grillo) is a former fighter who now owns the Navy Street gym in Venice, California where he trains the next generation of fighters, including sons Jay (Jonathan Tucker) and Nate (Nick Jonas). Alvey has been dating business partner Lisa (Kiele Sanchez) for the past three years—ever since her fiancé/Alvey’s former protégé, Ryan Wheeler (Matt Lauria), was sent off to prison and the engagement was called off.

The first 10-episode season of Kingdom serves as an introduction to the characters. Ryan has just been released from prison and is ready to get back into fighting. As part of his probation, he must live in a halfway house, where he is assigned unusual roommate Keith (Paul Walter Hauser). Ryan’s presence back in the gym is a little awkward for Lisa, but Ryan is not interested in trying to rekindle an old relationship, he is more focused on getting his career back on track. As Ryan prepares to re-enter the cage, Nate is also prepping for a big fight. However, an untimely accident puts his fighting career on hold. Meanwhile, Nate and Jay’s mother Christina (Joanna Going) has been out of the picture for a long time due to her drug addition. She’s currently turning tricks to support her habit, and while everyone seems to have given up on her, Jay refuses to, and is constantly trying to get his mother to clean up her life—which is kind of hypocritical given how much parting of his own Jay does.

The second season of the series is split into two 10-episode parts. The first half of the season introduces female fighter Alicia Mendez (Natalie Martinez), who makes her way to the Navy Street gym, looking for representation. Meanwhile, Christina tries to get treatment for her addiction, but an incident at the treatment center causes that to get cut short and sends Jay reeling; Nate is eager to get back in the ring; and Alvey’s old friend Chapas (Mark Consuelos) arrives in town looking for an investor, but the deal he is offering may be too good to be true.

The second half of the second season focuses on the big match-up (and subsequent rematch) between Ryan & Jay. The two are like brothers, and Alvey is both of their coaches, so he is put in the tough position of choosing which corner to stand in—that of his own son, or of the fighter he trained and groomed. Meanwhile, Lisa must deal with a horrific tragedy; Alicia’s model sister Ava (Lina Esco) arrives from Miami and immediately finds a sexual connection with Jay; and Nate struggles with his secret life.

I really enjoyed this series. When I first sat down to watch the DVDs, I only planned to check out a few episodes, but ended up watching all 10 episodes of the first season! I was expecting the series to focus mainly on the fighting, but was pleased to discover that it is so much more than that. The fights, while realistic and brutal to watch, are just a small piece of the series—it is much more of a complex family drama, following the lives of those who work and train in the Navy Street gym, exploring how messed up and complicated their lives are. There is a strong family bond between the characters that in some respects reminded me of the relationships in TNT’s Animal Kingdom. I had never really seen MMA fighting before checking out this series, and I was a bit shocked by how brutal and no-holds-barred it actually is! Why do these fighters put themselves through this? What is their motivation to beat someone up (or get beat up)? This is one of the topic that comes up over the course of the series. It also provides a look at some of the issues these fighters face—like trying to drastically lose weight in time to qualify for their match.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this show is that it constantly keeps you guessing. There are some really tense moments, and you’re not sure which way things are going to go or what these characters are capable of. No one is truly safe, and anything could happen to them. However, one negative of this is that more often than not, Alvey’s bad deeds never seem to catch up with him—the things he does are either forgotten or just quietly disappear without much fanfare. I would have liked to see him have to deal with more of the fallout from his actions.

The cast is incredible—besides delivering great dramatic performances, they are also in amazing physical shape. I can’t even imagine the type of regimen these actors must go through each season to look the way they do! The fight sequences are also quite impressive, looking quite visceral and real.

Shout! Factory has released the first two seasons/30-episodes in a 9-disc DVD set. The discs come packed in an extra thick DVD keepcase. Each set of 10 episodes is split across 3 discs, with 4 episodes on the first disc and 3 on each of the other two. While I would have preferred to at least get a Blu-ray release since the series is actually aired in 4K on DirecTV, the picture quality of these DVDs actually looks quite nice. For the most part the picture is clean and detailed. There were only a few darker scenes where I noticed quite a bit of pixelation and black crush. The audio track is quite good, providing clear dialogue throughout. During the fight scenes you can hear every brutal punch and jab, and there’s an immersive experience as you hear the cheering crowds all around you. The series also has a few music montage sequences that sound great. Unfortunately there is no bonus material included—it’s a shame that Shout! Factory didn’t include all of the various featurettes that can be found on the Audience Network’s YouTube channel. There are also no subtitles included.

This DVD set will be released exclusively at Walmart stores on June 6, and will be generally available at all retailers starting August 1.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (1290 min)

• All 10 Episodes of the First Season:
  “Set Yourself on Fire”, “Glass Eye”, “Piece of Plastic”, “Flowers”, “Eat Your Own Cooking”, “Please Refrain from Crying”, “Animator/Annihilator”, “The Gentle Slope”, “Cut Day”, “King Beast”
• All 20 Episodes of the Second Season:
  “New Money”, “Simulations”, “Broken or Missing”, “Be First”, “Happy Hour”, “Pink at Night”, “The Demon Had a Spell”, “Smoker”, “Living Down”, “Traveling Alone”, “Lay and Pray”, “No Fault”, “Woke Up Lonely”, “Do Not Disturb”, “Take Pills”, “Halos”, “Help Wanted”, “Cut Man”, “Late to Leave”, “No Sharp Objects”
• 480p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: None

Extras:

There is no supplemental material included.

Final Thoughts:

Kingdom is a riveting character drama set in the exciting world of MMA fighting. The series features an amazing, talented cast that delivers excellent dramatic performances and some pretty brutal fight sequences. Shout! Factory has released the first two seasons of the series in a reasonably-priced 9-disc DVD set, which provides many hours of bingeable entertainment. The DVDs look and sound great, however the release contains no supplemental material. That said, I still made this Highly Recommended based on the quality of the series alone. This DVD set will be released exclusively at Walmart stores on June 6, and will be generally available at all retailers starting August 1.