Snowpiercer (TV series)
Snowpiercer is an American post-apocalyptic dystopian thriller television series that premiered on TNT on May 17, 2020. It is based on both the 2013 film of the same name, directed by Bong Joon-ho and the 1982 French graphic novel "Le Transperceneige" by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette, from which the film was adapted. The series, a reboot of the film's continuity, follows the passengers of the Snowpiercer, a gigantic, perpetually moving train that circles the globe carrying the remnants of humanity seven years after the world becomes a frozen wasteland. The  series questions class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival. Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs star alongside Mickey Sumner, Alison Wright, Iddo Goldberg, Susan Park, Katie McGuinness, Sam Otto, Sheila Vand, Mike O'Malley, Annalise Basso, Jaylin Fletcher, Lena Hall and Roberto Urbina. Steven Ogg, Rowan Blanchard, and Sean Bean joined the main cast in the second season and both Chelsea Harris and Archie Panjabi joined the main cast in the third season. While in development at TNT for over three years, the series faced numerous production issues and delays arising from creative differences between the series' producers and the  network. The series remained in development hell until May 2019, when it was announced that the series would instead air on TNT's sister network TBS for a release in the second quarter of 2020 and that it had already been renewed for a second season. However, in September 2019, the decision to change networks was reversed. Prior to studio shutdowns that occurred due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, most of the second season's production was completed. The second season premiered on January 25, 2021. In January 2021, ahead of the second-season  premiere, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on January 24, 2022. In July 2021, ahead of the third-season premiere, the series was renewed for a fourth season. Premise. "Snowpiercer" is set in 2026, seven years after the world becomes a frozen wasteland, and follows the remnants of humanity who have taken shelter on a perpetually moving luxury train. Designed and built by the eccentric billionaire Mr. Wilford, the train consists of 1,001 carriages and circles the globe 2.7 times per year. The constant motion of the train provides energy and prevents the passengers from freezing  as well. Since the catastrophe, the train's population has become rigidly separated by class, caught up in a revolutionary struggle against the strictly imposed social hierarchy and unbalanced allocation of limited resources. The show explores issues of class warfare, social injustice, and the politics of survival. Production. Development. In November 2015, Marty Adelstein's Tomorrow Studios optioned the rights to develop a television series based on the 2013 film "Snowpiercer". The film had been adapted from the 1982 French graphic novel "Le Transperceneige" by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, and Jean-Marc Rochette. The film's director Bong Joon-ho  was attached as an executive producer alongside Adelstein and Josh Friedman, with the latter also set to write. A year later in November 2016, the project was ordered to pilot along with backup scripts by TNT with Friedman to serve as showrunner. In May 2017, it was announced that Scott Derrickson would direct the pilot written by Friedman. The pilot was picked up to series in January 2018. Later that month, Friedman was removed from the project by TNT due to "creative differences" with the network. Graeme Manson was appointed to replace Friedman as showrunner the following month. That June , Derrickson refused to return for reshoots on the pilot due to creative disputes with Manson, explaining via Twitter: Less than two weeks later, James Hawes joined the series in July as a co-executive producer and a director to oversee the reshoots for the pilot. According to Manson, nearly nothing of the original pilot's footage was used outside of one special-effect scene, and this reshooting was the primary cause for the year-long delay in the show's premiere. Later that month, Netflix picked up the international distribution rights to stream the series outside of the United States  and China. In May 2019, it was announced that the series would air on TBS instead of TNT for a spring 2020 release, and that a second season had already been ordered by the network. That month, it was also announced that Huanxi Media Group had signed on to broadcast the first two seasons exclusively in China. Manson will return as showrunner for the second season. In September 2019, the decision to change networks was reversed, with the series once again set to air on TNT. On January 19, 2021, ahead of the second-season premiere, TNT renewed the series  for a third season. On July 29, 2021, TNT renewed the series for a fourth season. On March 28, 2022, it was announced that Paul Zbyszewski is taking over as the showrunner and added as an executive producer for the fourth season. Writing. The series is designed to be a reboot of the original 2013 film's continuity. The story takes place seven years after a climate catastrophe rendered the outside world uninhabitable, forcing the remnants of humanity to live confined inside of a massive train that constantly circles the globe. The series investigates class struggle, as the passengers of  the train are segregated by wealth. The series star Daveed Diggs said that the show would "broaden exponentially" the world established by the film and the 1982 graphic novel. "That's one of the advantages of TV, you have time" Diggs said, "so the politics that are hinted at in the film are explored in much more depth and the mechanism of the train [is explored further] — just the little things that create a world, world specificity". At the 2017 Television Critics Association press tour, TNT and TBS president Kevin Reilly revealed that the "Snowpiercer" series would be akin to  a "space ship show" due to its contained setting and that it would feature a mystery during the first season. Casting. In May 2017, Daveed Diggs was cast as Andre Layton. The following month, Jennifer Connelly and Mickey Sumner landed the other lead roles of Melanie Cavill and Bess Till, respectively. Casting continued throughout the month of June with Annalise Basso as LJ Folger, Sasha Frolova as Pixi Aariak, Alison Wright as Ruth Wardell, Benjamin Haigh as Fergus McConnell, Roberto Urbina as Javi, and Katie McGuinness as Josie McConnell. That August, it was announced that Susan Park had joined the  main cast as Jinju. In September, Lena Hall was cast as Sayori. The series order in January 2018 also revealed that Sheila Vand and Sam Otto had been cast in then-undisclosed roles as series regulars. Vand was reported to be playing Zarah, while Otto will play John "Oz" Osweiler. In August 2018, Iddo Goldberg and Jaylin Fletcher were added as series regulars in the roles of Bennett and Miles, respectively. Casting for a number of recurring roles were also announced during the month of August, including Steven Ogg as Pike, Timothy V. Murphy as Commander Grey, Happy Anderson as  Klimpt, Jonathan Lloyd Walker as Big John, and Aleks Paunovic as Bojan Boscovic. The following month in September, Shaun Toub and Kerry O'Malley were added to the recurring cast as Terence and Lilah Folger, respectively. In October 2018, Aaron Glenane was cast as The Last Australian alongside Fiona Vroom as Miss Gillies, both in recurring capacities. In March 2019, Rowan Blanchard was cast as Alexandra for a guest role with the option of becoming a series regular should the series be renewed for a second season. Blanchard's promotion to the main cast for the second season was confirmed with  the series' renewal that May. In June 2019, Ogg was also promoted to series regular status for the second season. In October 2019, Chelsea Harris was announced in the recurring role of Sykes. Later that month, it was also announced that Sean Bean would be a series regular for the second season. In November, Tom Lipinski was added to the second season's recurring cast as Kevin. In December 2019, Sakina Jaffrey and Damian Young joined the second season's recurring cast as Mrs. and Mr. Headwood, respectively. On February 16, 2021, Archie Panjabi was cast as a new series  regular for the third season. On March 4, 2021, Chelsea Harris was promoted to as a series regular for the third season. On March 28, 2022, Clark Gregg and Michael Aronov were cast in undisclosed capacities for the fourth season. Filming. In January 2017, it was reported that filming for the series was scheduled to begin in mid-March of that year. By September 25, pilot director Scott Derrickson indicated that production for the series had officially commenced. Reshoots for the pilot, overseen by new director James Hawes, began on August 20, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia and concluded on  January 24, 2019. Principal photography for the second season began on October 21, 2019 in Langley, British Columbia and was originally expected to end on March 20, 2020. In March 2020, production was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lena Hall, who portrays Miss Audrey, confirmed in July 2020 that the last block of episodes for season 2—episodes 9 and 10—were being filmed. As of March 11, 2021, filming for the third season was in progress until at least July 23, 2021. Design. Despite the series' roots as a graphic novel and film, production designer Barry Robison  was told to give the train "its own identity". He conceived the massive locomotive on a "very, very long piece of paper," drawing the entire train in "about three days." His Vancouver design team, headed by Production Designer Stephen Geaghan, then set out to construct around 20 of the 1,001 cars of various sizes over four soundstages, heeding to TNT's orders to not make the train look "too sci-fi". Construction on each of the cars with contrasting classes took less than six weeks and was met with approval from series producer and film director Bong Joon-ho. Release . Broadcast. The series debuted on TNT in the United States in the spring of 2020, while Netflix began to air the series globally outside of the United States and China. Huanxi Media Group is set to broadcast the first two seasons exclusively in China. The series had originally been planned to premiere on May 31, 2020, yet was moved up to May 17, 2020 in early April. Brett Weitz, general manager for TNT, stated the earlier premiere was related to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to bring the series to viewers earlier. On October 8, 2020, at New York Comic  Con, TNT announced the second season was set to premiere on January 25, 2021. The third season premiered on January 24, 2022. Marketing. Cast members Connelly, Diggs, Wright, Sumner, Hall, and Ogg attended the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con International along with executive producers Manson, Adelstein, and Clements to promote the series and debut its first official trailer. As part of the promotion for the upcoming series, insect protein bars mimicking those from the film were made available at the event. Reception. Critical response. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes collected 82 critic reviews, identified 63% of them as positive, and reported  an average rating of 6.5/10 for the first season. The website's critics consensus reads: ""Snowpiercer" takes a different route with its source material, crafting an ambitious sci-fi mystery with style to spare, but with little of the subversive bite of Bong Joon-ho's theatrical adaptation." Metacritic assigned the first season a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 88% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critics consensus states: ""Snowpiercer  second season picks up the momentum by dropping narrative baggage without losing its critical reflections on society. Metacritic gave the second season a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".