TNT has given a pilot order to Snowpiercer, a futuristic thriller drama based on the acclaimed 2013 feature by Bong Joon Ho, which starred Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton and Song Kang-ho. The pilot will be co-produced by Tomorrow Studios — Marty Adelstein’s joint venture with ITV Studios — and Turner’s Studio T.
Tomorrow Studios optioned the rights to Snowpiercer last year, tapping Josh Friedman, who has extensive futuristic/sci-fi credentials, to write the series adaptation. Friedman previously created the Fox series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, also based on a movie franchise, and has written/co-written such movies as War of the Worlds and some of the Avatar sequels.
Snowpiercer is set seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, and the remnants of humanity inhabit a gigantic, perpetually moving train that circles the globe. The show questions class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival. In addition to producing a pilot, the project is getting backup scripts written.
Friedman serves as writer, executive producer and showrunner. Also executive producing the pilot are Tomorrow Studios’ Adelstein (Aquarius, Prison Break, Teen Wolf, Last Man Standing) and Becky Clements (Aquarius, Last Man Standing), and the original film’s Bong Joon Ho, Park Chan-wook, Lee Tae-hunand Dooho Choi, along with CJ Entertainment, which distributed the South Korean movie, based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette.
TNT
“Snowpiercer has one of the most original concepts to hit the screen in the last decade, and it’s one that offers numerous opportunities for deeper exploration in a series format,” said Sarah Aubrey, EVP of original programming for TNT. “We look forward to expanding TNT’s relationship with Tomorrow Studios and their take on a world where humanity is pushed to the extreme.”
Snowpiercer marks TNT’s third pilot from Tomorrow Studios’ Adelstein and Clements. TNT previously ordered Good Behavior, starring Michelle Dockery, which went to series that debuted earlier this month, and last month TNT picked up a pilot for the vampire thriller Let the Right One In, based on the best-selling novel by Swedish author John Ajvide, which is also a co-production between Studio T and Tomorrow Studios.
“TNT has become a great producing partner to Tomorrow Studios and we are excited to continue our relationship with them on Snowpiercer, for which we not only have a pilot but are writing multiple scripts,” said Adelstein, CEO of Tomorrow Studios. “This is an incredibly powerful story and one for which finding the perfect home was imperative to its success.”
The Snowpiercer movie, shot in English and Korean, was well received by critics. It grossed $87 million on a $40 million budget. Here is a trailer.
