Snowpiercer Season 3 - What We Know So Far

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Snowpiercer, TNT's TV series adaptation of Bong Joon-ho's 2013 dystopian sci-fi thriller film of the same name (as well as the '80s graphic novel Le Transperceneige on which the film was based), wraps up its second season with an explosive two-part finale that airs Monday, March 29, at 9/8c on TNT, with the first half currently available to stream on TNT's app.

The finale is setting up a showdown between deposed revolutionary leader Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) and Snowpiercer creator Mr. Wilford (Sean Bean), who has reassumed control of the never-stopping train that contains the remnants of humanity after an apocalyptic event. Wilford banished Layton to the supply train, "Big Alice," and is mulling over what to do about all the important Snowpiercer passengers who are still loyal to Layton. But one thing's for sure — to paraphrase The Walking Dead's Rick Grimes, Snowpiercer isn't a democracy anymore. Things don't look good for Layton and the revolution, but there is still hope in the form of Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly), who is off the train looking for scientific evidence that the planet is becoming habitable again, and who may return to the train in the finale.

Although this season of Snowpiercer is coming to a close, the good news for fans is that the show has already been renewed for season 3. Here's what we know so far about next season.

Variety broke the news that Snowpiercer was officially renewed for season 3 in January, before season 2 had even premiered. It was promising news for a show that had taken a difficult track to get to the screen. The original showrunner, Josh Friedman, was removed in early 2018 over creative differences with the network after the pilot had been shot, and director Scott Derrickson didn't return for reshoots. So, basically, an entirely new pilot, written by new showrunner Graeme Manson and directed by James Hawes, was shot, which pushed the premiere date for the series back a year. It finally premiered in May 2020.

Season 2 has been better received by critics than season 1, with an 85-percent "Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes compared to season 1's 63 percent. As the show heads into season 3, it seems like the producers have figured out what works.

As for when season 3 will premiere, it's hard to say, because Snowpiercer's schedule for the first two seasons has been a little all over the place. After that long pilot process, the first two seasons premiered in rapid succession, with season 2 launching on January 25, 2021, only about six months after season 1 concluded. Nonetheless, season 3 will presumably premiere around the same time season 2 premiered next year. The general production schedule for cable TV indicates that Snowpiercer will return in winter 2022. It's a winter show, after all.

Snowpiercer is a show with a very large ensemble cast and a pretty high body count, so it's not easy to predict exactly who will return for season 3 until after the season 2 finale. We can assume that the show's stars, Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly, will at least return for the next season.

Beyond them, we expect Sean Bean, Rowan Blanchard, Alison Wright, Lena Hall, Mickey Sumner, Sam Otto, Annalise Basso, and Steven Ogg to also return. Chelsea Harris, who plays Sykes, the head of security on Big Alice, has been confirmed to return, as Deadline reports she has been promoted to series regular for season 3.

Season 3 is also adding a new member to the cast who should be a familiar face to fans of quality television. Archie Panjabi, who won an Emmy in 2010 for her role as private investigator Kalinda Sharma on The Good Wife, will be joining Snowpiercer as a character named Asha, Variety reports. Details about the character are being kept under wraps for now, but Archie Panjabi is known for playing hard-edged operatives.

Nothing has been publicly revealed about what will happen in season 3 of Snowpiercer yet, but based on where things stand at the current point in season 2, we can make a couple broad predictions. The fight with Mr. Wilford doesn't seem like it will be over at the end of this season — thankfully, as Sean Bean has energized Snowpiercer in a really rousing way, and we hope he sticks around for awhile — so the conflict between the democratic have-nots led by Layton and the authoritarian haves led by Wilford will only get more intense in season 3.

Our other prediction is that Melanie will find signs of life, and we'll start to see what happens as people try to get off the train and back into the natural world. Who knows what's out there. The possibilities for expansion off the Snowpiercer train feel boundless. As for other ideas of what could happen, fans could look to the source material of Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette's French graphic novels for ideas the show's writers might draw upon.

Snowpiercer season 1 is currently available to stream on HBO Max. No word yet on when season 2 will reach the streaming service.