‘Warrior’ Canceled by Max After Three Seasons; Netflix Acquires Repeats
Max’s “Warrior,” a breakthrough series boasting one of the few Asian ensembles on television, has been canceled after three seasons. The series’ repeats will live on, however, via a off-net deal with Netflix, which has acquired the series’ run in a non-exclusive deal and could now potentially expose it to a new audience. (The show will also continue to be available on Max.)
“Warrior” returned for its third season in June after a two-year hiatus. The show originally ran on linear cabler Cinemax (starting in 2019), and was revived after a fan base campaign. Andrew Koji, Olivia Cheng, Jason Tobin, Dianne Doan, Kieran Bew, Dean Jagger, Tom Weston-Jones, Hoon Lee, Perry Yung, Langley Kirkwood, Miranda Raison, Chen Tang, Chelsea Muirhead, Mark Dacascos and Joe Taslim star.
More from Variety
Shannon Lee is among the executive producers on “Warrior,” which was based on a concept by her father, Bruce Lee. Per the logline, “‘Warrior’ follows the journey of Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji), who must choose between loyalty to his tong and commitment to his sister Mai Ling, ultimately facing a decision on what it truly means to be a Warrior. Meanwhile, the United States government escalates its persecution of Chinese immigrants forcing the leaders of the San Francisco tongs to fight for their piece of the American Dream, struggling to find a new way forward without tearing everything apart.”
Executive producers for Season 3 included showrunner/executive producers Evan Endicott and Josh Stoddard; Jonathan Tropper (creator) for Tropper Ink; Justin Lin, Danielle Woodrow and Andrew Schneider on behalf of Perfect Storm Entertainment; Shannon Lee for Bruce Lee Entertainment; Brad Kane; and Richard Sharkey. Co-executive produced by Lillian Yu and Francisca X Hu.
“’Warrior’ introduced viewers to a distinct world from the past, executed with dynamic action and relevant storytelling, with a brilliant cast led by Andrew Koji,” HBO and Max’s Casey Bloys said in 2021 in reviving the show.
Deadline was first with news of the “Warrior” cancellation.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.