Max Cancels WARRIOR. Here’s How We Can Save It!
Netflix has reportedly acquired martial arts drama Warrior for streaming in February 2024. The news comes by way of Deadline’s Rosy Cordero who also notes the show’s original platform, Max, has no plans to venture into a fourth season, and that all the actors have been released from their contracts.
The show premiered in 2019 as a Cinemax Original, the latest evolution of a concept originally birthed by Bruce Lee, toplining actor Andrew Koji, who leads the series drama from Shannon Lee, Jonathan Tropper, and Justin Lin. Set in the late 1800s, the now three-season show chronicles the journey of Ah Sahm (Koji), a martial arts who quests to San Francisco where he finds himself wedged between the warring Tongs, and racial tumult within the mechanisms of the city’s political establishment, all while trying to reunite with his sister.
Warrior moved to streamer Max for its third season launching back in June. Word from Cordero is that if the show performs well on Netflix when it launches in February, the streamer could very well greenlight a fourth season. The good news about this is that Netflix would serve amply as a hub for fans looking for martial arts episodics, with the company already home to shows like Cobra Kai, AMC’s Into The Badlands, Iko Uwais’ starrer Wu Assassins, and with Brad Falchuk and Byron Wu’s The Brothers Sun set to kick off in January.
Season three of Warrior saw friends and rivals – old and new – settle old scores, the biggest with Ah Sahm forced to confront his withering alliances in the Hop Wei Tong following the change of leadership hands. The show is laced with snappy dialogue, gritty imagery, and gripping performances including cast members Jason Tobin, Olivia Cheng, Kieran Bew, Dean Jagger, Joe Taslim, Dianne Doan, Perry Yung, Dustin Nguyen and even Banshee vet Hoon Lee to name a few. Par for the course were some of the most explosive and climactic moments that really brought the show to some dramatic standstills, including spectacular action design by Brett Chan and his team at Hitz International.
Via Deadline:
“Warrior is a show that simply refuses to die. Through platform and regime changes, the writers, producers, cast, crew, and our stunt team continued to make something powerful, relevant, and wildly unique. And now, thanks to Netflix, we’ve been given yet another lease on life, and I’m thrilled for everyone involved that millions more viewers around the world will discover it,” series creator Jonathan Tropper shared in an exclusive statement to Deadline.
Added executive producer and daughter of Bruce Lee, Shannon Lee, “If anything can be said about Warrior, with Bruce Lee in our corner, our indomitable spirit is REAL! And so, my wish is that the huge global Netflix audience LOVES Warrior and from that Love more goodness flows – in the form of greater recognition for our talented cast and crew who deserve all the things, in the form of passionate fandom for this relevant kick ass show and, if I dare to dream, in the form of an opportunity to continue our story for our amazing fans who, thanks to Netflix, will have grown in number and enthusiasm!”
If you’re a Max subscriber, you can catch the series now. If not, and you don’t mind waiting a few more months into the new year, you’re gonna be in for a real treat, and quite possibly help grant this show a deserving future.
Click below to read my reaction to Season three.
Read more at Deadline.
Lead photo: David Bloomer
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
WARRIOR Is Now Streaming On Netflix. Binge It. Tell Your Friends. Binge It Again. Repeat. | Film Combat Syndicate
February 16, 2024 @ 5:31 am
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