TNT’s Snowpiercer adaptation has had its share of difficulties, derailments we’ve documented in these same internet pages. The series, which stars Daveed Diggs as one of the passengers caught up in the perpetual motion machine that is capitalism, lost a showrunner (Josh Friedman, who’s co-writing both Avatar 2 and Terminator: Dark Fate with James Cameron), gained a showrunner (Orphan Black’s Graeme Manson), and picked up a new director to reshoot the pilot. It then got moved over to “very funny” fellow Turner network TBS, where it’s basically the sole dramatic offering. But regime changes are part of the source material, after all, and Snowpiercer now appears to be back on schedule—not a moment too soon, because our train puns have begun to lose steam.
The first series trailer is now out, and shows Layton Well (Diggs) scraping to get by and high off Kronole, the industrial waste-based drug that offers temporary escape from a post-apocalyptic world. As Melanie Cavill, Jennifer Connelly is the literal voice of the new world order, making announcements over the train’s PA system that reach even the tail end. And when the two collide, it’s inevitably bloody—or not, if you’re one of the poor souls forced to entirely freeze your arm off by Mr. Wilford’s draconian regime. Snowpiercer also stars Mickey Sumner, Alison Wright, Lena Hall, and Sam Otto, and is set to arrive in Spring 2020.