After just three episodes, Cinemax has given an early renewal to its freshman series Warrior. The martial arts drama based on the writings of Bruce Lee and created by Banshee co-creator Jonathan Tropper earned positive reviews upon its debut, and has apparently impressed the powers that be at Cinemax and beyond enough in its subsequent episodes that the premium cabler has opted for another season with Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) and his newfound companions as the Tong Wars of San Francisco reach a boiling point.
With its influences tied directly to the legend of Bruce Lee — his daughter, Shannon, is an executive producer on the show — as well as the entertainingly pulpy drama of Tropper’s previous Cinemax endeavor, Banshee, Warrior has proven to be an exciting amalgam of period drama intrigue and contemporary storytelling techniques. The result so far has been a successful launch of a new series that has all the hallmarks of a typical Cinemax original, but with the added benefit of Tropper and fellow executive producer Justin Lin’s stylistic input.
More: Bosch Season 5 Review: TV’s Most Reliably Entertaining Cop Show Returns
The news of Warrior season 2 getting the green light was made in an official release from the network, with Lee Amato, president, HBO Films, Miniseries, and Cinemax programming saying, “Bruce Lee’s vision is alive and well. WARRIOR combines high-energy martial arts with wit and brains. We’re thrilled to renew such a great show for a second season on CINEMAX.”
The obvious question now is: How long of a series will Warrior prove to be? In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Tropper addressed that question, saying he and his writers’ room have already mapped out the story through season 2. He also thinks that the current trend in TV is for most series like Warrior to run around three or four seasons.
The early renewal is a certainly a good sign for Warrior, as it seems to have prove itself successful enough early on to warrant confidence from the higher ups at the network. With so much of season 1 still left to air, viewers can rest assured that whatever transpires throughout the rest of the season, Ah Sahm will be back for more.
“The television landscape changes so much it’s hard to know what considered the right length for a show like this. It used to be five or six seasons. Now maybe it’s three or four. I think what I did with Banshee is I’ve always just kind of decided, doesn’t feel like there’s any more story to tell and we move on. The thing about Warriors is we have a lot of characters and we have a historical situation and the history of that time continues to spin stories for us.
So I think for us, there’s plenty of story yet to spin based on what was going on. We picked a very specific time in history for a lot of reason. Four years before the Chinese Exclusion Act. Right now, we have two seasons fully mapped out, but we have a lot of ideas about what a season three could look like, and I don’t think we dare think past that, but I do think this is the kind of show that has a big enough world that the story will keep getting spun as long as we’re all excited to tell it and as long as people are watching it.”
Next: Cobra Kai Review: Karate Kid Sequel Series Continue To Defy Expectation In Season 2
Warrior continues this Friday with ‘The White Mountain’ @10pm on Cinemax.
