After suffering a pretty serious setback last month, theSnowpiercerTV series is back on track. TNT developed a TV adaptation of the 2014Bong Joon-hofilm through the pilot stage with showrunnerJosh Friedman, whose credits includeTerminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, NBC’sEmerald City, and the filmsAvatar 2andWar of the Worlds. But after the pilot was shot, Friedmanwas pushed outof the showrunner position onSnowpiercer. TNT claimed “creative differences,” but Friedman took to Twitter to say he was fired for fear of not being “compliant.”
Now, however, TNT has found a replacement to spearhead the show going forward, and it’s someone who knows his way around an engaging sci-fi series.Varietyreports thatOrphan Blackco-creator and showrunnerGraeme Mansonhas been tapped as the new showrunner onSnowpiercer, with TNT executive vice president of original programming calling him “the best conductor to navigate the thought provoking and delicate themes of the series while bringing this frozen, futuristic world to life.”
Bong Joon-ho’s film told the story of a group of humans on a train that sped around the globe, which had been transformed into a new ice age by efforts to halt climate change. The train holds the last remnants of humanity, and is divided by classes and social status with the poorest citizens at the very back.
TheSnowpiercerTV series takes place seven years after the ice age event and centers on a small band of people who inhabit the train, withJennifer ConnellyandDaveed Diggsleading a cast that also includesAlison WrightandSusan Park.
Doctor StrangefilmmakerScott Derricksondirected the pilot, and Manson seems like a swell choice as showrunner.Orphan Blackwas a consistently engaging piece of sci-fi storytelling that wasn’t afraid of levity, and while the story itself got a little too tangled towards the end, Manson did a solid job of keeping such a unique concept together for as long as he did. A premiere date forSnowpiercerhasn’t been announced just yet, but it’s expected to premiere sometime this year.
