Bruce Lee inspired TV series Warrior opens to positive reviews, ‘punching above its weight’
- Inspired by an eight page treatment Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon found, the story was originally supposed to star the kung fu legend himself
- The Cinemax series, which debuted on April 5, also features Hong Kong-born actor Jason Tobin
While it has gathered little fanfare and press in North America, Cinemax’s Bruce Lee inspired Warrior has opened to positive reviews from fans and a few critics.
The series, which originally came from an eight page treatment Lee wrote years ago that was discovered by his daughter Shannon when she took over her father’s foundation in 2000, released its pilot episode on April 5.
Rumours are that the treatment was used as the basis for the 1972 series Kung Fu, which starred David Carradine, however Lee was never given credit or compensation for his idea from Warner Bros.
Warrior is the tale of martial arts prodigy Ah Sahm – played by Fast & Furious 6 star Andrew Koji – who emigrates from China to San Francisco in the 1800s. The series is also directed by Justin Lin, who directed four of the Fast and Furious films.
It currently has a 8.4 out of 10 rating (with 560 votes) on the Internet Movie Database. It also has a 68 rating on Metacritic, which means it has “generally favourable reviews”. According to TV Series Finale, the first episode drew 157,000 viewers.
The series also features Hong Kong born actor Jason Tobin (To Jun Wai) who attended King George V School in Kowloon. Tobin plays Young Jun, who befriends Sahm.