Last month, Snowpiercer pilot director Scott Derrickson followed initial showrunner Josh Friedman in leaving the show over creative differences with network TNT when he was asked to helm reshoots that would work in new showrunner Graeme Manson's "radically different vision" for the series. Derrickson was quickly replaced by James Hawes, who has directed episodes of the TNT event series The Alienist as well as episodes of Black Mirror, The Mist, Penny Dreadful, and Doctor Who.
It remains to be seen how well Snowpiercer will turn out after the creative shake-up, but some good news has dropped in the midst of the behind the scenes drama, as an excellent addition has been made to the show's already large cast.
Steven Ogg, who played the villainous Negan's homicidal right hand man Simon on a few seasons of The Walking Dead, is signed to play a "key recurring role" on Snowpiercer.
Based on the 2013 film of the same name that was directed by Bong Joon-ho, Snowpiercer is set
seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland. The series centers on the remnants of humanity, who inhabit a gigantic, perpetually-moving train that circles the globe. As it does, issues of class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival are raised.
Ogg's character is named Pike and he's described as being a "hardened and battle-scarred" career convict. He was "serving time in Cook County Jail for armed robbery at the time of the Freeze but escaped. He is a leader in the Tail and a warrior of his people."
He joins a cast that includes Daveed Diggs as a prisoner in the tail end of the train, Jennifer Connelly as a first class passenger who handles the train's PA announcements, Mickey Sumner as part of the train's security force, Annalise Basso as a poor fourth class passenger, Sasha Frolova as a character who is returning to the front of the train after serving three years in the prison car, Benjamin Haigh as the poverty-stricken Fergus McConnell, Katie McGuinness as Fergus's no-nonsense mother, Alison Wright as a fourth-class passenger who works in a nail salon, Roberto Urbina as a fireman in a polyamorous relationship, Susan Park as the finest chef at the train's best restaurant, and Lena Hall as the train's archivist. Sam Otto and Sheila Vand are also on board, but details on their characters haven't been revealed.
The Snowpiercer series is coming to us from Turner's Studio T and Marty Adelstein's Tomorrow Studios. Adelstein is executive producing with Becky Clements, Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Lee Tae-hun, and Dooho Choi. Hawes is co-executive producing.
Despite all the trouble, I'm hoping Snowpiercer will still turn out to be a good show.