Overview
The place: earth in the near future. The situation: a frozen planet chilling at a frosty -119 degrees celsius, as caused by humanity's attempts to combat climate change. The only solution: a constantly hurtling 1001-car train that plays host to the world's only remaining people. But, instead of banding together on the speeding locomotive, the residents of Snowpiercer have transported society's class structure into the carriages of their new home.
That's the story that drives Snowpiercer — on both the big screen and on TV. First came Bong Joon-ho's 2013 film, which marked the acclaimed South Korean writer/director's first English-language film, and one of the movies that brought him to broader fame before Netflix's Okja and 2019's Cannes Palme d'Or-winning and Oscar-winning Parasite. Then, unsurprisingly, came a US-made television series, which was first announced back in 2016, and then finally started speeding across screens — including Down Under, where it's available via Netflix — from May this year.
In both forms, Snowpiercer boasts a smart, immersive and all-too-timely concept — and unpacks its underlying idea in a thrilling and involving manner. While the TV version isn't as great as Bong's film (because, honestly, how could it be?), it takes the same dystopian concept, heightens the suspense and drama, and serves up both a class warfare-fuelled survivalist thriller and a murder-mystery. Think constant twists, reveals and reversals, cliffhangers at the end of almost every scene, and a 'Murder on the Snowpiercer Express' kind of vibe. Indeed, it's rather addictive — and, after just wrapping up its first season, the show has dropped its first teaser for its second batch of episodes.
Once again, Hamilton's Tony Award-winning Daveed Diggs leads the charge, playing an ex-detective who has spent seven years in the tail end of the train and is dedicated to overthrowing the status quo to achieve equality for all. Also aboard is Jennifer Connelly as the engine's all-seeing, ever-present head of hospitality, with the likes of Frances Ha's Mickey Sumner, Slender Man's Annalise Basso and The Americans' Alison Wright all part of Snowpiercer's new world order as well. And, in the new trailer, they're all facing a significant change. They're also about to meet a new adversary, as played by none other than Game of Thrones' Sean Bean.
Just when Snowpiercer's second season will arrive is yet to be revealed — although it's safe to say it won't start dropping until 2021 at the earliest. Just how long Bean will survive in his latest role, well, that's something you can start pondering right now.
Watch the Snowpiercer season two trailer below:
Snowpiercer's second season will hit Netflix Down Under at a yet-to-be-revealed date — we'll update you with further details when they come to hand.