TV crime drama Warrior has been canceled at Max, but there might be hope for its future yet. The show, which closed the door on its third season only a few months ago, will no longer premiere new episodes on HBO’s streaming platform, IGN has confirmed.
Birthed from a concept created by Bruce Lee, the series originally debuted on Cinemax in 2019 before moving to its latest platform for its third season. It’s had a troubled history, but Warrior still hasn’t seen its final fight.
Per Deadline, Netflix is interested in potentially breathing more life into the Andrew Koji and Olivia Cheng-starring show. The streaming giant will bring Warrior to its subscribers in February 2024. Should it prove popular among its viewers, Netflix could push to create additional seasons. It’s unclear when a fourth season would arrive but there is at least hope that fans will get some form of continuation.
“Warrior is a show that simply refuses to die,” series creator Jonathan Tropper told Deadline. “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.”
Shannon Lee, Bruce Lee’s daughter and a Warrior executive producer, had more to share regarding the show’s hopeful future:
“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 site notes that the currently-paused show’s actors have been released from their contracts. Koji, for example, has already begun booking other gigs.
Warrior’s future is up in the air, but we’ve liked some of what it’s offered thus far. In our Season 1 review, we said, “Warrior is, to some extent, a riff on the kind of foul-mouthed yet aspirational storytelling of Deadwood — but this time, the tale is told from the perspective of the Chinese immigrants who gave so much of their sweat (and so many of their lives) to build the American West.”
IGN has reached out to Netflix for comment.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
