Cinemax’s ‘Warrior’ is Coming for All the TV Crowns

Warrior is based on the writings of Bruce Lee and produced by the creator of Banshee a.k.a. the once king of fight scenes. As we mentioned when the teaser dropped, these two facts alone create one hell of a pedigree. And my friends: Cinemax’s Warrior does not just live up to that pedigree. It straight up surpasses it with a deathly cold stare and an air of determination. It has made a claim to the crown of “Best Fight Scenes in a TV Series.” I could also make the argument for “Best Western Period Drama” if not “Best Drama” but let’s not get to far ahead of ourselves. Set in the late 1800s in San Francisco, California, Warrior follows Ah Sahm (played brilliantly by Andrew Koji), a martial arts prodigy who immigrates from China in search of his sister. Within minutes of making landfall, he gets into a scuffle with some white cops which gets him noticed by Wang Chao (Banshee alum Hoon Lee) who offers his services to Hop Wei, Chinatown’s most ruthless tong. Thus, Ah Sahm’s search for his sister gets complicated as he becomes friends with Young Jun (Jason Tobin), the son of the Tong leader Father Jun (Perry Yung), and in turn becomes a hatchet man for the Hop Wei. He now finds himself in the start of a fictionalized version of the Tong Wars  and the focal points of many conflicts to come. Furthermore, in the pilot episode alone, Ah Sahm also meets: Ah Toy (Olivia Cheng), a connected courtesan, Mai Ling (Dianne Doan), and Li Yong (Joe Taslim); followers of the rival Tong leader Lon…