Snowpiercer series finally coming to TNT, and here’s the first teaser to prove it

It's been three long years, but TNT's much-anticipated series Snowpiercer—an adaptation of the critically acclaimed 2013 film by Oscar-nominated director Bong Joon-ho (Parasite)—is finally emerging from development hell and coming to television. The network just dropped a teaser trailer, and despite all the production drama, it looks like a promising fleshing-out of the original dystopian vision.

Bong Joon-ho's film itself is an adaptation of a 1982 French graphic novel Le Transperceneige, about remnants of humanity trying to survive an ice age inside a 1,001-car train. The director has said he was especially captivated by the "unique cinematic space of a train" as a futuristic Noah's ark. "Hundreds of metal pieces moving like a snake carrying people squirming inside gripped by heart," he said. "And the people inside were fighting against each other." There's also a viral outbreak that starts wiping out the passengers.

While the basic premise remained the same, Bong Joon-ho created a new narrative arc and fresh characters for his 2013 film. The train is run by a reclusive transportation magnate named Mr. Wilford, who has separated the passengers according to class and has a nefarious plan to ensure life on the train remains sustainable. It starred Chris Evans as revolutionary leader Curtis, with Tilda Swinton as second-in-command Minister Mason. Bong shot much of it on a specially constructed set: a train mounted on a giant gyroscopic gimbal, the better to mimic the movements of an actual train. Snowpiercer earned critical raves and went on to gross $86 million worldwide, against a roughly $40 million production budget.