Warrior: The Rise of a Canceled Show

The Story of Warrior

Despite being canceled after its third season, Warrior, HBO's hit martial arts crime drama, is about to become even bigger than it was before thanks to a popular streaming platform. Initially, the TV series premiered on Cinemax, a premium network owned by HBO, in 2019. After two strong seasons, Cinemax announced that it would no longer produce original content, but Warrior's run wasn't meant to end after its sophomore season. Luckily, HBO Max — which, confusingly, rebranded to Max — renewed the series for its third and final outing. Unfortunately, Max canceled Warrior months after season 3 was released. Despite all the changes, Warrior still has a bright future ahead.

Andrew Koji stands ready to fight as Ah Sahm in Warrior

Set during the Tong Wars — violent, inter-gang disputes centered in American cities' Chinatowns — Warrior transports viewers back to 1870s San Francisco. The word 'tong' translates roughly to 'gathering place'; as such, Tongs were Chinese immigrant-founded organizations that operated like secret societies or sworn brotherhoods. Often tied to criminal activity, Tongs in American cities relied on brothels, gambling dens, and opium houses for revenue. In Warrior, the series' main character, martial arts prodigy Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji), becomes entangled in one of Chinatown's most powerful Tongs while searching for his sister, Mai Ling (Dianne Doan), who's married to the head of the Long Zii Tong.

Andrew Koji as Ah Sahm fights a rival Tong member in Warrior

Warrior's Netflix Release Will Make It Bigger Than Ever Before

After Warrior landed at Max, a seemingly better home, it was canceled in December 2023, prompting Netflix to grab non-exclusive rights to the three existing seasons of the show. The Netflix news is great for the martial arts crime drama, which is based on an original concept and treatment by the late Bruce Lee. As pointed out by Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee, who served as an executive producer on Warrior, Netflix fanfare can only help the canceled series. 'Warrior is a show that simply refuses to die. Through platform and regime changes...,' series creator Jonathan Tropper told Deadline. 'Thanks to Netflix, we’ve been given yet another lease on life.'

Although unconfirmed, Warrior is expected to debut on Netflix in February 2024. With a staggeringly massive worldwide audience, Netflix might just help garner Warrior greater global recognition. Recently, the streamer has given second lives to multiple series that were originally released on competitor networks, from HBO's sports dramedy Ballers to Paramount+'s supernatural teen drama School Spirits. While both series were initially well-received, their Netflix debuts caused incredible surges in popularity. Looking back, Netflix has also picked up and then renewed competitors' once-canceled series, as was the case with YouTube Premium's Cobra Kai — a show that exceeded expectations during its Netflix run. Given Warrior season 3's cliffhanger ending, a Netflix-powered popularity surge would be welcomed by fans.

Why Warrior Was Canceled After Season 3

After three 10-episode seasons, Max's Warrior was canceled by the network-turned-streaming platform. While the show sometimes struggled to live up to its own lofty ambitions, the exhilarating Warrior — and its remarkable action sequences — generally dazzled critics and audiences alike. It's no secret that period-piece shows are incredibly expensive to make, which likely factored in to Max's decision to cancel the series. After all, in the age of streaming, a high price tag combined with non-record-breaking viewership numbers often ends in cancelation. Still, Netflix's Warrior acquisition gives season 4 of the acclaimed series a fighting chance.