Few TV shows arrive with pedigrees as distinguished as that of Warrior, which is based on the writings of cinematic legend Bruce Lee. Among the executive producers on the creative team: Justin Lin, a key director of the Fast and Furious franchise (among other projects), and Jonathan Tropper, the co-creator of the Cinemax cult gem Banshee. That drama mixed rural film noir with imaginative action and character development in ways that allowed it to punch above its weight: It may not have had the well-known cast or generous budget of programs on Cinemax’s corporate sibling, HBO, but in its first three seasons, Banshee was one of the shows I most looked forward to watching every week.

Cinemax's Warrior: Season 1 Gallery 9 IMAGES

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Warrior is similarly efficient, energetic, and enjoyable; It is American history brought to vivid life with so much punching.Unlike Banshee, Warrior is a period piece, but don’t let the corsets, carriages, and elaborate facial hair make you think that this is a polite drawing-room drama. The Cinemax series is set in the nearly lawless San Francisco of 1878, and the majority of key characters are Chinese immigrants. There are some cops keeping an eye on Chinatown, but they’re often drunk, inept, or on the take — if not all three. This was the reality of most urban police forces back in the day: Many immigrants, whatever side of the law they were on, regarded cops as one more gang they had to deal with, and they weren’t entirely wrong about that.You could draw any number of parallels between events occurring in the present day and various storylines on Warrior, where enterprising politicians never waste an opportunity to whip up racial animus in pursuit of their greedy goals. But the nimble and generally brisk Cinemax drama doesn’t beat viewers over the head with political allegories. It merely allows members of the audience to draw their own conclusions as it takes an unsentimental look at the varied lives of 19th Century Asian immigrants, who were (as history books affirm) frequently branded a “foreign criminal element” even as white businessmen depended on them for cheap labor. Warrior is first and foremost an action drama — many stratagems are employed to get characters to the point where they simply must begin busting each other’s heads — but this pulp-adjacent drama has a thoughtful political edge.The character showcased in the first season is Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji), a newcomer who surprises everyone by being very handy with his fists (and feet), and by speaking English perfectly (his grandfather was an American sea captain who took up residence in China). As Ah Sahm learns the rigorous ways of the gangs that vie for primacy in the city’s Chinese community, he also searches for someone who “crossed the salt” before him. The trajectory of that search ends up in an unexpected place, one that leads to yet another array of unforeseen complications and divided loyalties.Very few moments in Warrior are subtitled, and the show handles the language issue with particular elegance. When they talk amongst themselves, most of the characters speak vernacular English with American accents. Through subtle but clear cues, Warrior finds ways to indicate that in those situations, nearby “ducks,” i.e. English-speaking white people, would only hear Chinese being spoken. Given how often pop culture has reduced Asian characters to lazy stereotypes and offensive caricatures, this choice ends up being not just welcome but refreshing. As Ah Sahm and his friends in the gangster life get into scraps and try to find a purpose beyond mere survival, their lively, occasionally salty conversations create an intimacy and specificity that feels authentic (even if one of their favorite sayings — “You get me?” — feels lifted from a mid-1930s James Cagney picture. And by the way, that’s not a diss).The expanding Chinese population of San Francisco is forced into a tight enclave that functions like a small town, and now and then, Warrior’s dynamics can feel similarly cramped. Storylines about turf battles, slipshod police investigations, and political infighting can occasionally come off as repetitive, and a few of the comically corrupt politicians seem nearly interchangeable. And though Ah Sahm’s tale provides the through-line of the series — and Koji is suitably brooding in the role — some other core characters, like a politician’s wife, a cynical cop assigned to the Chinatown beat, and a labor rabble-rouser with a side hustle in a bare-knuckle brawling often come off as one-dimensional, despite the actors’ game performances.But there are many excellent elements to savor, including Ah Toy (Olivia Cheng) and Mai Ling (Dianne Doan), two Chinatown women who refuse to be decorative, passive, or manipulated. Without question, one of the best things about Warrior is Hoon Lee’s subtle performance as local fixer Chao, whose rascally air hides the intellect and wit of an observant survivor. Not aligned with any underworld faction in Chinatown, Chao sells weapons and intelligence to all of them. It may not be a safe profession, but it’s certainly a busy and profitable one.Just as various San Francisco machinations start to blur together in the middle of the first season, Warrior gets out of town — literally — in a most rewarding way. If you’re wondering whether Warrior is your cup of tea, it’s worth watching episode five, “The Blood and the Sh*t,” which could serve as a standalone calling card.The hour’s premise is as follows: What if Chinese men who really, really know martial arts — and are understandably pissed off about the knee-jerk racism and attempts to socially emasculate them that they encounter all the time — had a saloon showdown with criminally inclined cowboys? The episode takes the sense of alienation and destiny at the heart of many great Westerns, and allows Ah Sahm and his brother in crime, Young Jun (Jason Tobin), to lay claim to them. And it’s worth noting that in my 30 years of writing about TV, I can’t recall another time I’ve seen an episode of TV written by (Kenneth Lin), directed by (Kevin Tancharoen) and starring Asian men (the capable Tobin and Koji are backed up by a standout performance from guest actor C.S. Lee). They all clearly put their heart and souls into this spaghetti Western-flavored installment, and it shows.Warrior is, to some extent, a riff on the kind of foul-mouthed yet aspirational storytelling of Deadwood — but this time, the tale is told from the perspective of the Chinese immigrants who gave so much of their sweat (and so many of their lives) to build the American West. There are also echoes of Banshee’s world-weary yet romantic tone, a generous dose of Peaky Blinders-style gangland swagger, plus the kind of immersive and unflinching visual style that recalls Cinemax’s The Knick. And of course, the action sequences recall the inventive, kinetic dexterity of Bruce Lee and many who followed in his footsteps.Warrior also mixes in the core elements of every gangster drama ever — dangerous factions and battered individuals are driven by varying combinations of lust, money, status, revenge, and hope — and fashions all those references and building blocks into something highly watchable and even beautiful at times. Dramas with well-choreographed action and fresh, fertile settings aren’t exactly easy to find these days, and with the wonderful Into the Badlands airing its series finale soon, let’s hope Warrior gets to stick around beyond its quite promising first season.