Another series under the Warner Bros. Discovery umbrella is coming to an end. TNT’s Snowpiercer will finish its run with its fourth season which is currently in production, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It is one of the latest cancellations of scripted content across Warner Bros. many networks.
Starring Daveed Diggs (black-ish, Blindspotting) and Jennifer Connelly (Top Gun: Maverick, A Beautiful Mind), Snowpiercer is set in a dystopian future in which most of the world has been covered in ice. Those who remain exist on a constantly moving train that is divided by socioeconomic status. The series has followed the marginalized communities galvanize a rebellion against the powerful higher class. The series is based on the 2013 Bong Joon-ho film which starred Chris Evans (Lightyear, The Gray Man), Tilda Swinton (Three Thousand Years of Longing, Dr. Strange), Song Kang-ho (Memories of Murder, Broker), Octavia Spencer (Truth Be Told, Ma), and Jamie Bell (The Shining Girls, Turn: Washington’s Spies).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series premiered in May 2020 after originally being set to air on TNT’s sister network, TBS. The show has since gone through four showrunners, with Paul Zbyszweski (Helstrom, Most Wanted) helming the series now. Directors for the show have included James Hawes (Black Mirror, Slow Horses) and Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Black Phone).
Snowpiercer’s cancellation is another casualty of the recent Warner Bros. Discovery merger, which was finally cemented this past April, via The Hollywood Reporter. As budgets have been tightened to accommodate 3 billion dollar cut, the new network has shifted its focus on spending. For instance, TNT and TBS will no longer air original scripted content, leaving Snowpiercer and the family crime drama, Animal Kingdom, the last of a dying breed.
Over at HBO/HBO Max, shows have either been interrupted with no real ending or have never left the page. An online campaign surged in response to the abrupt end to the sci-fi series, Raised by Wolves, which ended after two seasons. With the third season in mind, actors have championed fans on social media to raise awareness to shepherd the show to new home. And JJ Abrams’ (Fringe, Lost) Demimomde was canceled over its 200M-plus budget.
Photo credit: Raymond Flotat