When Warrior wrapped up its second season back in October 2020, fans of the gritty, action-packed crime drama based on the writings of Bruce Lee were feeling pretty certain that the Cinemax series had come to an end. Even executive producers Justin Lin (F9) and Shannon Lee felt that was the end of the road. But then something interesting happened.
After HBO Max (whose parent company WarnerMedia also owns Cinemax) initially decided that Warrior “didn’t fit the brand” for the new streaming service, an executive change-up led to the show’s first two seasons hitting the platform in January 2021 where it quickly found an audience. In a new interview, Lin describes how Warrior‘s presence on HBO Max led to an outpouring of love for the show and, surprisingly, a third season renewal thanks to the support of Chief Content Officer Casey Bloy. Via GQ:
But being on HBO Max was great — it allowed me to have some heart-to-heart talks with Casey. When I think about the process and this business, the degree of difficulty on this one was very high. But Casey was very open. A lot of times in this business, when you have a conversation, you can tell very quickly when they’re just kind of humoring you. I never felt that with him. It all organically led to this great news.
While the renewal will undoubtedly go over with Warrior‘s growing fanbase, there will be a bit of a wait until the third season hits HBO Max. According to Lin, production on the series that’s set during the “brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the late 19th century” won’t start until some time in 2022.
(Via GQ)
