Netflix grabs 'Snowpiercer' TV show outside the US and China (updated)
The brutal tale will hit screens next year.
We've known for some time that the stunning and brutal post-apocalyptic movie Snowpiercer is being made into a TV series for TNT. Now, Netflix is joining in on the action by distributing the series outside of the US and China, Variety reports. The 2013 film, by intriguing South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho, told the story of a socially stratified supertrain traveling on an endless loop across a frozen planet, touching on food scarcity, class warfare and child exploitation along the way. The TV adaptation offers more of the same, raising questions about human survival that are eerily pertinent even in our "civilized" age.
The original film's production staff have joined the adaptation team as co-executive producers, and Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly will take a lead role, alongside Daveed Diggs, Alison Wright, Mickey Sumner and Katie McGuinness. Unfortunately, the show is already off a rocky start. The original showrunner, Josh Friedman (The Sarah Connor Chronicles), left earlier this year due to "creative differences." And most recently, the director of the pilot, Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange), refused to shoot new scenes written by the new series head, Orphan Black co-creator Graeme Manson.
Update: This post has been updated to reflect the Netflix distribution news. The Snowpiercer TV series was originally announced in 2016.
