'Snowpiercer' Air Date, News: Showrunner Leaves Series Ahead of TNT Debut
The "Snowpiercer" television adaptation on TV is going through production problems. Showrunner Josh Friedman announced his departure from the show, which has yet to debut on TNT.
Friedman reportedly left "Snowpiercer" due to creative differences with the network. The executive producer and scribe wrote the show's pilot episode. TNT has not yet announced his replacement.
"Snowpiercer" is based on 2013 critically acclaimed Korean film from director Bong Hoon Ho. The American version starred Chris Evans ("Captain America) and Tilda Swinton ("Doctor Strange") came out in theaters two years later.
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The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where the Earth has become a frozen wasteland. Survivors live inside a long and gigantic train that circles the globe. Inside the train, however, social hierarchy and injustice exist, while politics matter to survival.
TNT announced the development of the series in late 2015 with Bong and Friedman. Viewers who have seen the movies, however, wondered how the television show would play out since "Snowpiercer" took place in just one location -- inside the train. Story expansion as a series didn't seem feasible.
The network's president, Kevin Reilly, confirmed that "Snowpiercer" would still exist in one location in the TV adaptation. Friedman apparently wrote multiple train cars that have different themes and scenarios.
"It's a contained environment with wide swath of characters stuck together in an intense environment, a game of survival but it makes for epic character drama," Reilly told a panel in early January. "It will have a heightened feel but it is really an internal potboiler of character dynamic and there is an ongoing mystery."
Producers eventually picked Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly to headline the series. Her character is unique to the show and hasn't been featured in the movie versions.
The network gave "Snowpiercer" a series greenlight two weeks before Friedman dropped out. TNT has not yet earmarked the show's actual debut date.
