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John Singleton's Snowfall - drama about crack cocaine epidemic in 1983 LA - Wed on FX

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Snowfall starts July 5th at 10pm on FX. The first season will consist of 10 episodes. There's a good amount of talent behind the camera (Singleton + a few Justified alums) and the cast (particularly Damson Idris) is supposedly pretty good, but reviews have been mediocre thus far. I'll probably check out a few episodes and see if it's worth sticking around.

FX said:
Los Angeles. 1983. A storm is coming and its name is crack. Snowfall is a one-hour drama set against the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic and its ultimate radical impact on the culture as we know it.

The story follows numerous characters on a violent collision course, including: Franklin Saint (Damson Idris), young street entrepreneur on a quest for power; Gustavo “El Oso” Zapata (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), a Mexican wrestler caught up in a power struggle within a crime family; Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson), a CIA operative running from a dark past who begins an off-book operation to fund the Nicaraguan Contras; and Lucia Villanueva (Emily Rios), the self-possessed daughter of a Mexican crime lord.

Snowfall is created by John Singleton & Eric Amadio and Dave Andron and Executive Produced by Singleton, Andron, Thomas Schlamme, Amadio, Michael London and Trevor Engelson. Andron will serve as showrunner.

Videos:
- Official trailer
- Just Say No promo
- First Look feature
 

KodaRuss

Member
Not sure if I am going to try this out or not. Might keep an eye on this thread for some impressions from others. Fargo is finished and my wife and I need something to watch until Halt and Catch Fire comes back on, she watched all of GLOW without me also...

The previews had me a little confused about it, seems like there is a DEA agent making money on the side or did I make that up?

EDIT: Read the synopsis, yes a CIA agent is doing something on the side. Seems to be trying to tell a lot of stories at once, Ill keep my eye on it. Might watch the first episode tonight.
 
Snowfall is still at about 60 on Metacritic with 30 reviews in. Some like it a fair bit whereas others think it meanders a bit too much without really providing a spark. Doesn't seem like any of the less positive reviews actively dislike it - it's more that they feel like your time might be better spent elsewhere. I was surprised that Sepinwall thought it might be a hit for FX based purely on the subject material (crime! drugs!) because anecdotally it seems like a show that won't garner much interest (see: this thread.)
 
I'll probably check it out because I'm not really watching anything else right now really though I've been meaning to start Power.
 
Yeah, I don't think the ratings are going to be good for this either Cornballer. It doesn't seem to have any buzz and numbers are down for pretty much everything this summer.
 
Oh shit this is tonight!! Man I'm looking forward to this, it's gonna kick ass! Thanks for the reminder op

Edit dang lukewarm reviews! Say it ain't so!
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
I will wait until the season is half over and then check back in here to see what people are saying before I decide whether or not to watch.
 

Zenner

Member
Looks like an interesting series to follow. The poor scores seem to be commenting on having to follow three distinct story arcs, instead of one character; I have no problem with a slow-burner of a tv show.

It's gotta be better than the WKUK's crack origin story, at any rate. :v
 
No idea what's up with the reviews, I'm definitely in for the season after the pilot. Solid writing and acting, really good use of the setting and period, and compelling hooks to see where the stories go next. I don't know why parallel storylines would be a problem for any TV drama in 2017 (Better Call Saul? The Americans? Not to mention the obvious parallels back to Traffic?), though I can understand if the feeling is not all of them were immediately gripping -- I thought the wrestler's story was the weakest to start and Franklin's the strongest. That said, I didn't totally feel like I bought Franklin's big decision in this episode since we barely knew him, it maybe could have used a bit more development. Sepinwall had a good description for him on his podcast: he's got great screen presence even if you can't really tell what his inner motivations are.

Still, with that creative team on FX I have no reason to doubt it so far. Yes it's gritty and dark and raw and all the other cliched words usually used to describe shows about male anti-heroes in the criminal world, so it's not for everyone, but I'd still expect there to be a decent audience given how well-worn that particular sub-genre is. I also haven't seen any of Narcos, but if you have I can imagine there might be some thematic overlap and maybe that might make this show feel a bit redundant, I don't know. But just based on the pilot, I'd say it's worth a look.
 

sappyday

Member
They filmed this show in my neighbor's house. I couldn't sleep that night cause the lights were beaming into my room.
 

Enzom21

Member
I enjoyed it.
FX is getting real liberal with the langue and partial nudity, it's almost like they're a real cable channel.
 
The pilot was extremely generic to me, filled with archetypes and caricatures. It was relatively slick so I'm not prepared to drop the show immediately, but... eh.
 
The pilot was extremely generic to me, filled with archetypes and caricatures. It was relatively slick so I'm not prepared to drop the show immediately, but... eh.

This is pretty much my take on it as well. I'll keep watching since it's summer and there isn't much else on, but I wouldn't blame anyone who bailed on it.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Mixed reviews? Might check it out after a few episodes are out on Amazon video. Hopefully the next few episodes review well.

Several (all?) of the reviews from critics are based on the entire season, not just the first few episodes. The season as a whole is supposed to be mediocre, although according to Sepinwall things pick up a bit in the last 3-4 episodes.
 

Slayven

Member
I like the show as well, but I feel it would have been a much better show had it focused on just Franklin's story.

They try so hard to get you like Teddy, but it just makes you hate him more. I mean at best he is sentencing communities to a fate worse to death. At worse he is doing it and neglecting his special needs child.
 
I didn't even know this series had gotten a thread.

I haven't watched this week's yet, but I've seen the others. I'd say... there isn't anything wrong with it that I can state explicitly, but there isn't a lot of spark/energy to it. I don't expect shootouts and boobs every half hour, but right now it doesn't quite have enough going for it. It presents its material in a very straightforward way and it could use some more style.

I feel the same way about season 1 of Breaking Bad, and Snowfall has a lot of room to grow, like BB did. Hope it comes together for them.
 
I like the show as well, but I feel it would have been a much better show had it focused on just Franklin's story.

They try so hard to get you like Teddy, but it just makes you hate him more. I mean at best he is sentencing communities to a fate worse to death. At worse he is doing it and neglecting his special needs child.

Yeah just watched this and caught up. When it's not about Franklin this show loses ALL momentum. The cartel story is tolerable, but unnecessary, but the CIA thing is KILLING me. Whenever it's about Franklin, though, it's great.
 
I bet this show would benefit from a more planned out and developed story between the young black guy and the loony Jewish supplier.
 

Slayven

Member
And that shit in episode 3.....yo I am out the game. I would have bleached my skin, died my hair blonde, changed my name to Chad and moved to Utah. No one is about that life
 

Redd

Member
Why do they skip scenes then explain it later. Like the murder of the enforcer and the freaking plane incident. Sometimes I hit rewind on older episodes to make sure I didn't miss them.

It should be all about Franklins drama. Best part of the show imo.
 
They try so hard to get you like Teddy, but it just makes you hate him more. I mean at best he is sentencing communities to a fate worse to death. At worse he is doing it and neglecting his special needs child.
I'm not sure they try to get one to like Teddy because he's least likeable person on that show to me. Heck, I even like the crazy underwear dude that keeps shooting at his underlings more than Teddy.
 
And that shit in episode 3.....yo I am out the game. I would have bleached my skin, died my hair blonde, changed my name to Chad and moved to Utah. No one is about that life

Was just telling my wife between this, Baby Driver, Breaking Bad, Shot Callers with Jamie Lannister, and innumerable crime dramas over the years - I can't find one good reason why people join the criminal team in movies. Bad guys rarely win, the the money is only good if you can survive to spend it, and the loyalty of your boys is usually reversed the second trouble stirs the water.

But yeah, ep 3...woah.
 
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