Annalise Basso and Sasha Frolova have boarded the growing cast of TNT’s upcoming Snowpiercer pilot. The series, which was announced last fall, is an adaptation of Bong Joon-ho’s acclaimed 2013 sci-fi thriller of the same name, an ambitious and breathtaking tale of class warfare, social injustice, and survival. A failed attempt to counteract climate change transformed the world into an inhospitable icy tundra, confining humanity's remaining members to a hierarchal dystopia aboard a globe-crossing train. Chris Evans starred as a passenger leading its brewing revolution.
The show is set seven years after the globe has become a frozen wasteland, with Hamilton's Daveed Diggs starring as series protagonist Layton Well, a lowly rider who becomes a reluctant participant in the resistance. Meanwhile, Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly was cast as Melanie Cavill, an upper class passenger who serves as the voice of the train, and Mickey Sumner will lead as Bess Till, an empathetic and savvy brakesman working as part of the security team.
Deadline reports that Basso will play LJ Anderson, a quiet and diligent Midwestern girl who lives with her parents in a fourth-class cabin and works in the greenhouse car. According to her character description, she's made peace with her new life — that is, until, a major event shakes up her world. Frolova will portray Pixi Aariak, a "strange, mysterious, and inscrutable" woman who returns to the front of the train after a three-year prison sentence and struggles to acclimate to her old life.
Most will recognize Basso from her turn in last year's Ouija sequel Origin of Evil, though she's also nabbed episodic stints in the likes of True Blood, Bones, and Parks and Recreation, plus large parts in The Red Road and Cold. Frolova, on the other hand, is more of a newcomer. Her credits only date back to 2014, including brief turns in Blue Bloods, The OA, and 2016 drama Two for One.
If Snowpiercer is a hit, it could prove a breakthrough role for either actor, who both have a number of other titles lined up. And it certainly has the potential. Even four years after its release, Snowpiercer remains one of the most widely lauded sci-fi flicks in recent memory, and it set up a rich universe ripe for further exploration. Movie to TV adaptations are often hit or miss, but thus far, it seems like Snowpiercer is on the right track.
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Snowpiercer is expected to premiere sometime in 2018.
Source: Deadline