Season 1
Warrior
Though it often buckles under the weight of its lofty ambitions and ideological pedigree, Warrior's devil may care attitude provides thrilling energy and action that will please those looking for a period drama with a little kick.
79%
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Critic Ratings: 2494%
Audience Score
User Ratings: 248Rate And Review

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Oof, that was Rotten.
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Episodes
Series premiere. Ah Sahm, a Chinese immigrant with fighting skills, arrives in San Francisco in 1878, and is introduced to Chinatown's most ruthless tong, the Hop Wei, by Chao, a fixer. After impressing Young Jun, son of tong leader Father Jun, Ah Sahm is branded and taken to a brothel, where he befriends Ah Toy, a courtesan with connections.
Young Jun intercepts a shipment of opium at the docks with Ah Sahm and his Hop Wei lieutenant Bolo in tow, and decides to send a message to Long Zii. Big Bill and Lee investigate a grisly murder scene in an alley next to an Irish bar, The Banshee.
Leary pressures gentleman industrialist Byron Mercer, who is Penny's father, to hire his men for a cable-car track job, despite the fact that Mayor Blake hasn't yet awarded Mercer the contract. Accused of assault and perhaps worse, Ah Sahm gets a cold shoulder from the Hop Wei, with his fate in the hands of an unexpected ally.
Big Bill finds himself compromised by his gambling excesses, but discovers a possible solution after an opium-den raid. Penny reveals the circumstances that prompted her to marry Mayor Blake, who's determined to show voters he won't tolerate San Francisco's "Yellow Peril." After meeting with leaders of the Fung Hai tong, Mai Ling offers Ah Sahm a way out of a protracted—and bloody—tong war.
Ah Sahm and Young Jun transport precious cargo via stagecoach through the Sierra Nevada, and are forced to spend the night with three strangers at a frontier saloon in the middle of nowhere. The detour turns perilous when Harlan French, a notorious outlaw, shows up with his henchmen, looking for a lucrative payday.
Tensions escalate between the Hop Wei and Long Zii after an assassination attempt during a boisterous Chinatown parade. Big Bill sets out to pay his debt to Jack Damon, leaving Lee to keep watch over Lucy and the kids. Mayor Blake and Deputy Mayor Buckley get a mandate from Robert Crestwood, a senator with eyes on the White House.
Ah Sahm faces a dilemma when Father Jun sends Bolo to hunt down Long Zii and Mai Ling. Ah Toy recruits a special girl from a whore monger, and takes on a business partner for a land deal. Penny is faced with an unsavory choice in order to save her home. Lee's past catches up with him.
The Hop Wei and Long Zii consider a novel way to end hostilities after a bloodbath on the streets of Chinatown. Ah Toy and her real-estate business partner, Leonard Patterson, hit a fork in the road in their effort to buy a valuable piece of land. After promising jobs to Leary's Irish workers, Mercer toasts Crestwood at a fund-raiser, while Penny struggles to hold her tongue. Mai Ling warns her brother against waging a battle he may not win.
Chinatown gathers to witness a "prize fight" between elite warriors from the Hop Wei and Long Zii. Buckley plays a bluff in hopes of getting Mercer to lower his fee. Ah Sahm remembers his roots as a fighter, as Ah Toy warns him of the dangers that await. Bill and Lee question Wang Chao about the recent series of sword killings in San Francisco.
In the Season 1 finale, Ah Sahm rejects his warrior roots and retreats into the netherworld of the Chinese working class; a guilty Big Bill stands vigil for Lee at the hospital; and with the police roughing up tong members in retaliation for their violence, Zing and the Fung Hai make a show of force to compel Mai Ling to honor her partnership. Meanwhile, burned by Buckley, Leary decides to take matters into his own hands at Mercer's factory.
Warrior: Season 1 Videos
Tv Season Info
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Genre:Action & Adventure
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Network:Cinemax
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Premiere Date:Apr 5, 2019
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Creator:
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Exec. Producers:
Cast & Crew

Samuel Blake

Ah Sahm

Mai Ling

Ah Toy

Li Yong

Penny

Father Jun

Young Jun

Bill O'Hara

Walter Buckley

Wang Chao

Dylan Leary

Richard Henry Lee

Byron Mercer

Long Zii

Robert Crestwood

Bolo

Harlan French

Jacob

Lucy


News & Interviews for Warrior: Season 1
Episodes
Series premiere. Ah Sahm, a Chinese immigrant with fighting skills, arrives in San Francisco in 1878, and is introduced to Chinatown's most ruthless tong, the Hop Wei, by Chao, a fixer. After impressing Young Jun, son of tong leader Father Jun, Ah Sahm is branded and taken to a brothel, where he befriends Ah Toy, a courtesan with connections.
Young Jun intercepts a shipment of opium at the docks with Ah Sahm and his Hop Wei lieutenant Bolo in tow, and decides to send a message to Long Zii. Big Bill and Lee investigate a grisly murder scene in an alley next to an Irish bar, The Banshee.
Leary pressures gentleman industrialist Byron Mercer, who is Penny's father, to hire his men for a cable-car track job, despite the fact that Mayor Blake hasn't yet awarded Mercer the contract. Accused of assault and perhaps worse, Ah Sahm gets a cold shoulder from the Hop Wei, with his fate in the hands of an unexpected ally.
Big Bill finds himself compromised by his gambling excesses, but discovers a possible solution after an opium-den raid. Penny reveals the circumstances that prompted her to marry Mayor Blake, who's determined to show voters he won't tolerate San Francisco's "Yellow Peril." After meeting with leaders of the Fung Hai tong, Mai Ling offers Ah Sahm a way out of a protracted—and bloody—tong war.
Ah Sahm and Young Jun transport precious cargo via stagecoach through the Sierra Nevada, and are forced to spend the night with three strangers at a frontier saloon in the middle of nowhere. The detour turns perilous when Harlan French, a notorious outlaw, shows up with his henchmen, looking for a lucrative payday.
Tensions escalate between the Hop Wei and Long Zii after an assassination attempt during a boisterous Chinatown parade. Big Bill sets out to pay his debt to Jack Damon, leaving Lee to keep watch over Lucy and the kids. Mayor Blake and Deputy Mayor Buckley get a mandate from Robert Crestwood, a senator with eyes on the White House.
Ah Sahm faces a dilemma when Father Jun sends Bolo to hunt down Long Zii and Mai Ling. Ah Toy recruits a special girl from a whore monger, and takes on a business partner for a land deal. Penny is faced with an unsavory choice in order to save her home. Lee's past catches up with him.
The Hop Wei and Long Zii consider a novel way to end hostilities after a bloodbath on the streets of Chinatown. Ah Toy and her real-estate business partner, Leonard Patterson, hit a fork in the road in their effort to buy a valuable piece of land. After promising jobs to Leary's Irish workers, Mercer toasts Crestwood at a fund-raiser, while Penny struggles to hold her tongue. Mai Ling warns her brother against waging a battle he may not win.
Chinatown gathers to witness a "prize fight" between elite warriors from the Hop Wei and Long Zii. Buckley plays a bluff in hopes of getting Mercer to lower his fee. Ah Sahm remembers his roots as a fighter, as Ah Toy warns him of the dangers that await. Bill and Lee question Wang Chao about the recent series of sword killings in San Francisco.
In the Season 1 finale, Ah Sahm rejects his warrior roots and retreats into the netherworld of the Chinese working class; a guilty Big Bill stands vigil for Lee at the hospital; and with the police roughing up tong members in retaliation for their violence, Zing and the Fung Hai make a show of force to compel Mai Ling to honor her partnership. Meanwhile, burned by Buckley, Leary decides to take matters into his own hands at Mercer's factory.
Critic Reviews for Warrior Season 1
All Critics (24) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (5)
Warrior has its charms and much like a Chinese "Peaky Blinders" or "Gangs of New York," it's best when it leans into mankind's reaction to corruption and injustice.
It doesn't even remotely live up to [Lee's] legacy, too often coming off like a dirge when it needs to be as light on its feet as the man who once envisioned it.
...startlingly resonant and highly cinematic.
For all the technical virtuosity of its breakneck fight scenes, the most powerful punches are landed by the writing, a model of the snappy ingenuity at which contemporary American TV excels.
It is a deliriously good time.
In an America where "trigger warnings" insulate sensitive personalities from the harsh realities of life, Warrior is a much-needed punch in the face.
Capturing the feeling of marginalized cultural existence through a subjective fighting stance is "Warrior's" top priority, and that alone ends up making the show feel worthy of Bruce Lee's legacy.
From drama, the Old West, history, and martial arts, the first season of Warrior is one of the best first seasons to a show I have ever seen. It balances every element perfectly to tell its story...
While I was entertained throughout the first run of the show, I am not sure it is going to have enough to keep me coming back for a second season
The series promises an intense and passionate journey. [Full Review in Spanish]
There is much to savour in Warrior. The action is overly graphic at times, but the martial arts sequences are memorably scrappy and naturalistic - bones crunch and viscera squishes.
Warrior is a victory in nearly every sense of the word. Not only is it great TV, it also rights a wrong that has lingered over the legacy of cultural icon Bruce Lee for nearly half a century.
Audience Reviews for Warrior: Season 1
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Mar 02, 2021Not sure why this isn't a massively popular show! Would strongly recommend watching to anyone that is considering it. I hope they make Season 3.
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Feb 25, 2021Great fight scenes!!! At times can be a bit too graphic for my taste, but I keep coming back for more. I hope MAX goes for a season 3.
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Feb 05, 2021On ep.2 now but I'm really enjoying it- only thing i dislike is when they make the unnecessary effort to code switch from Cantonese to English for the Chinese characters.... i can read subtitles
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Feb 05, 2021Better than we deserve! Both seasons are fantastic! Write to @hbomax and @warriormax for a third season.
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Jan 30, 2021Some of the best fights you'll see this side of IP Man! The perfect mix of spaghetti westerns and bad ass martial arts gangster movies. Bruce Lee would be proud.
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Jan 27, 2021Great show, I hope it gets renewed on HBO Max
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Jan 25, 2021Stumbled on this on HBO Max, upset I didn't find it sooner. Really solid show if you are looking for something new to watch, please HBO Max keep making more seasons. This will get more popular as more people find it
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Jan 25, 2021Show is great action is spectacular acting is good fun show
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Jan 21, 2021Great show! Must watch! Hope they make a season 3.
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Jan 19, 2021Warrior is such an incredible show! They do a great job with their character development, everyone's story is interesting. The fight scenes and acting are on point.
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