When it comes to period dramas, there is usually one question. Is the series based on a true story. That’s certainly something fans of Warrior have questioned.
This isn’t an easy question to answer. You see, while it’s not based on a true story, it is loosely based on real history.
Ah Sahm and others are fictional characters
The actual characters in Warrior are all fictional. While the events are loosely based on real history, there are no real stories being told.
At least, not that we know of. Of course, history is written by the victor, and there are always going to be stories of things that happened that are never known about. Maybe there was someone like Ah Sahm who came to America to find his sister only to end up in a rival tong. That’s not completely out of the ordinary.
The individual stories of the characters offer drama. They also offer something for us to connect to as we learn more about life in the past.
Warrior has some truth to the events
There are elements of truth sprinkled into the series. The Tong Wars really happened as more Chinese immigrants came to San Francisco and were forced into Chinatown. You know of Chinatown in San Francisco now, but it has a dark history that you’ll want to learn about the next time you go there.
The end of Season 2 sees Dylan Leary stand up and say that he was the leader of the Workingmen’s Party of California, which was a real party at the time. It was run by the anti-immigration leader Denis Kearney, and that is who Leary is based on.
You’ll see mentions of certain Acts that are passed, and they are based on real things that happened. So, while the characters and the individual storylines are fictional, the history is not.
Warrior is available to stream on Max and Netflix.