Snowfall is an American crime dramatelevision series, created by John Singleton, Eric Amadio, and Dave Andron, that was first broadcast on FX on July 5, 2017. Set in Los Angeles in 1983, the series revolves around the first crack epidemic and its impact on the culture of the city. The series follows the stories of several characters whose lives are fated to intersect: 19-year-old drug dealer Franklin Saint, Mexican luchador Gustavo "El Oso" Zapata, CIA operativeTeddy McDonald, and a Mexican crime boss's niece, Lucia Villanueva. The series, which was first set up at Showtime in 2014, was picked up by FX for a ten-episode season on September 30, 2016. On August 9, 2017, the network renewed Snowfall for a second season, which premiered on July 19, 2018. On September 19, 2018, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on July 10, 2019. On August 6, 2019, FX renewed the series for a fourth season which was originally scheduled to premiere in 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming for the season was temporarily suspended. The season is scheduled to premiere in 2021.
Cast
Main
Damson Idris as Franklin Saint; a 19-year-old drug dealer
Carter Hudson as Teddy McDonald; a CIA operative working undercover for the American government
Emily Rios as Lucia Villanueva; daughter of a Mexican crime boss
Sergio Peris-Mencheta as Gustavo "El Oso" Zapata; a Mexican luchador
Isaiah John as Leon Simmons; Franklin's best friend
Amin Joseph as Jerome Saint; Franklin's uncle
Angela Lewis as Aunt Louie; Jerome's long-suffering girlfriend
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 61% based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 6.19/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Snowfall struggles to create a compelling drama from its separate storylines, despite Singleton's accurate recreation of 1983 Los Angeles and a strong lead performance from Damson Idris." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 62 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". A 100% approval rating for the second season was reported by Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.0/10 based on 7 reviews. Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx gave a mixed review of the series, criticizing the show's cliched storytelling and pacing; the latter he observed, "oddly feels sluggish and rushed at the same time, lingering over certain tasks and story beats... but then oddly jumping over story points in a way that had me frequently checking to be sure I hadn't skipped an episode by mistake." He further emphasized: "Snowfalls not a bad drama at this stage, just more generic than it should be, especially on a channel known for making old TV ideas feel brand-new." Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture, however, gave a positive review to Snowfall, praising "the attention it pays to the sights, sounds and textures of people's lives in 1983 Los Angeles, and to fine details of characterization — in other words, the sort of stuff that would never get a dramatic series a green light unless drugs and violence were attached to it." He further stated: "rather than go for a vibe like The Wire or Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, which explored the drug trade with a newspaperman's anthropological detachment, Snowfall aims for a bouncier, more seductive vibe." Seitz also praised the "phenomenal" acting of Idris, Peris-Mencheta, Hudson, and Rios.
