Ahead of Warrior‘s series debut this Friday, Cinemax has released a new promo for creator Justin Lin’s upcoming martial arts drama, highlighting the obstacles that the lead character must go through in order to survive in a foreign country. Based on the writings of legendary action star Bruce Lee, you can check out the video below.
Cinemax picked up the straight-to-series drama, with an eye to start production on its ten-episode season this fall in Cape Town, South Africa. The show is inspired by an idea from Bruce Lee and created and executive produced by Jonathan Tropper (creator of Cinemax’s Banshee) under Tropper Ink Productions. Justin Lin and Danielle Woodrow will executive produce on behalf of Perfect Storm Entertainment, and Shannon Lee will executive produce for Bruce Lee Entertainment.
“’Warrior follows in the spirit of the tradition of adrenalized Cinemax dramas that we established with ‘Strike Back’ and ‘Banshee,’” said Antholis. “We are brimming with excitement for this unique martial arts series combining Bruce Lee’s inspired conception with the immense storytelling talents of Jonathan Tropper and Justin Lin.”
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Warrior is a gritty, action-packed crime drama set during the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the second half of the 19th century. The series follows Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy who immigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances, and becomes a hatchet man for one of Chinatown’s most powerful tongs (Chinese organized crime family).
The series will star Andrew Koji as Ah Sahm, Olivia Cheng as Ah Toy, Jason Tobin as Young Jun, Dianne Doan as Mai Ling, Kieran Bew as Officer O’Hara, Dean S. Jagger as Dan Leary, Joanna Vanderham as Penelope Blake, Tom Weston-Jones as Richard Lee, Hoon Lee as Wang Chao, Joe Taslim as Li Yong, Langley Kirkwood as Walter Buckley and Christian McKay as Mayor Samuel Blake.
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“I’ve always admired Bruce Lee for his trailblazing efforts opening doors for Asians in entertainment and beyond,” notes Lin. “So I was intrigued when Danielle told me about the urban legend of his never-produced idea for a TV show and suggested we bring it to life. Then, when Shannon shared with us her father’s writings – rich with Lee’s unique philosophies on life, and through a point of view rarely depicted on screen – Danielle and I knew that Perfect Storm had to make it.”
Warrior is produced for Cinemax by Perfect Storm Entertainment, Tropper Ink Productions and Bruce Lee Entertainment.
