‘Snowpiercer’ Lives: TBS Revives Long-Delayed TV Adaptation, But It Won’t Premiere For Another Year
Zack Sharf
The long-in-the-works “Snowpiercer” television series will live to see another day. TBS has announced it is reviving the dropped TNT adaptation of Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 science-fiction action film of the same name. The series stars Jennifer Connelly opposite “Hamilton” and “Blindspotting” breakout Daveed Diggs. In a sign of confidence, TBS has renewed “Snowpiercer” for a second season. The show’s debut run will kickoff next year.
“Snowpiercer” has been in development for four years. The series was originally announced in 2015 with “Sarah Connor Chronicles” creator Josh Friedman attached as showrunner. TNT picked up the pilot in November 2016 but the project got stalled over creative differences between the network and Friedman. The showrunner left the series just as TNT announced in January 2018 it was picking up “Snowpiercer” straight to series. “Orphan Black” co-creator Graeme Manson replaced Friedman, but the hire led to drama as Friedman publicly bashed Manson for taking over without consulting him first. “Doctor Strange” director Scott Derrickson helmed the original pilot but quit the series because of Manson’s “radically different vision” compared to Friedman.
Like the original 1982 French graphic novel and Bong Joon-ho’s movie, which starred Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer, and Tilda Swinton, the “Snowpiercer” series takes place in a dystopian future where the world has frozen over and humanity is left to survive on a moving train that circles the globe. The train is divided into class structures, leaving the poor to fight for scraps in the back while the wealthy live expensive lives in the front. The film focused on the downtrodden rebelling against high society. The series will be TBS’ first original drama.
“‘Snowpiercer’ is the perfect show to kick-off TBS’ entry into dramas with intricate storytelling, stunning visuals and first-class acting,” TBS’s GM Brett Weitz said in a statement. “We believe in the longevity of this series and that audiences will be amazed by the fantastical world that brings to life such relevant social, political and environmental issues.”
The show’s supporting cast includes Mickey Sumner, Susan Park, Benjamin Haigh, Sasha Frolova, Katie McGuinness, Alison Wright, Annalise Basso, Sam Otto, Roberto Urbina, Sheila Vand, Rowan Blanchard, and Lena Hall. “Snowpiercer” will debut on TNT in spring 2020.
