Cinemax's 'Strike Back' Goes on Production Hiatus, Possibly Delays Final Season

Just a few short months after Cinemax announced that it was ending popular action series 'Strike Back' after its upcoming fourth season (fifth if you count the initial U.K. only season that was eventually aired as a prequel in the U.S.), a mysterious injury threatens to delay the show's final batch of episodes.

The final season's production had been proceeding along as planned, when series co-star Sullivan Stapleton suffered a serious, undisclosed injury. On an action-driven show like 'Strike Back,' one would assume that Stapleton got hurt doing a stunt, but the reality is actually far more mundane. The primary shooting location for Season 4 is Bangkok, Thailand, and Stapleton apparently got hurt while on a self-guided exploratory tour of the famous city.

While neither Stapleton or producers have commented on the exact nature of what happened, the actor is reportedly hurt bad enough that he's going to need a few months to recover. The nature of Stapleton's role requires him to perform lots of physically demanding stunt work, which would be next to impossible with an injury that severe.

Production on Season 4 will continue through March, but the series will shoot around Stapleton, filming scenes that don't require his presence on set. In a bit of a lucky break, Stapleton has already shot a large percentage of his scenes for the season, due to his starring role in the upcoming sequel '300: Rise of an Empire.' The actor was scheduled to take a few weeks off soon anyway, so that he could fulfill his promotional obligations for the film.

'Strike Back' is currently scheduled to resume production this fall, in Hungary. Shooting will be delayed for approximately six months. As a result, the premiere of the show's 10-episode final season may possibly get bumped to 2015. Stay tuned to TVRage for any further developments.