‘Warrior’ Canceled At Max As Netflix Picks Up Non-Exclusive Rights To 3 Existing Seasons
Warrior won’t be returning for a fourth season on Max.
However, the existing three seasons of the martial arts crime drama are set to find additional audiences as Netflix has picked up the series’ library in a co-exclusive deal with Max in Warner Bros. Discovery streamer’s markets.
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Warrior is expected to debut on Netflix in February 2024. If it does well, Netflix could presumably order a new season of the drama based on an original concept and treatment by Bruce Lee, sources tell Deadline exclusively.
This latest move sets Warrior in its third home in as many years. The series premiered in 2019 on Cinemax where it ran for two seasons before it was announced in early 2020 that the network was moving out of the Originals business. WBD sibling Max picked up the show for a third season in Spring of 2021 which premiered this summer with the season concluding on August 17.
“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!”
The Warrior cast have been released from their contracts, so bringing them together for new episodes could be complicated. Series star Andrew Koji, who played Ah Sahm in all three seasons, has already moved on, booking major roles in the Sky and AMC+ series Gangs of London and the upcoming comedic action-thriller Sixteen.
Created and executive produced by Tropper, Warrior is set during the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the late 19th century. The show follows Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy who emigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances. After proving his worth as a fighter, Ah Sahm becomes a hatchet man for the Hope Wei, one of Chinatown’s most powerful organized crime families, or tongs.
In addition to Koji, Olivia Cheng, Dianne Doan, Jason Tobin, Kieran Bew, Dean Jagger, Tom Weston-Jones, Hoon Lee, Perry Yung, Langley Kirkwood, Miranda Raison, Chen Tang, Chelsea Muirhead, Mark Dacascos and Joe Taslim also star.
Perfect Storm Entertainment, Tropper Ink Productions and Bruce Lee Entertainment produce the series. Warrior is showrun and executive produced by Evan Endicott, Josh Stoddard; Tropper (creator); Justin Lin, Danielle Woodrow and Andrew Schneider on behalf of Perfect Storm Entertainment; Shannon Lee for Bruce Lee Entertainment; Brad Kane; Richard Sharkey. Co-executive producers are Lillian Yu and Francisca X Hu.
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