Ty Watches "Snowfall"

About 2 weeks ago the show "Snowfall" premiered on FX. I have been very much looking forward to this show. I waited before I had a few episodes recorded to start watching the show, and I finally watched the pilot and the second episode last night. So how is it?

"Snowfall" has some promise. I like the look, the story, the setting and the actors. The show takes place in Los Angeles in 1983. This is when the rise of crack and cocaine started to flood the streets. I'm always interested in stories like these. I like to see fictionalized versions of historical happenings. The main character, Franklin(Damson Idris), is a smart, soft spoken kid that just happens to be a drug dealer. He has tried to live the straight life, going away to college and holding down a job, but it just wasn't for him. He wanted to make a lot of funny, and make it fast.

Damon Idris, who is a total unknown to me, is pretty good in the role. He pulls off the softness, but also has the rough edges needed to survive in the drug game. Two scenes in the pilot really show this. One is when he runs into a kingpin in a club, she puts a gun to his throat, and instead of freaking out, he calmly tells her his plan. She buys it, and he is in the clear. The other scene involves another kingpin, there are going to be a lot of them it seems on the show, and he makes him put on a bullet proof vest to see if he is for real. Franklin does it, the guy shoots away from him, and gives him a kilo of cocaine to move in 24 hours, just to see if he can trust him. This particular scene had me on pins and needles. I am very excited to see where "Snowfall" takes this character in this first season.

We met some of Franklin's friends, and a possible love interest, but they didn't really flesh these characters out yet. At least not in the first 2 episodes. One of the kids, I barely know anything about. The other, he was in juvenile, and has a bad attitude, but that was it. The love interest is in high school, and I'm sure she and Franklin will get together, have some ups and down due to his job, but be okay in the long run. We also meet Franklin's mom, but all we really found out about her is, she has a stressful job, likes to smoke weed and seems to kind of know what her son is up to. I'm sure we will learn much more about her as the story progresses. There is some good stuff with Franklin's aunt and uncle, his uncle is his partner in cutting and selling coke. His aunt beats the shit out of a lady that claims to have been with his uncle. His uncle likes to get into fights and lift weights, but also knows when a deal can go bad. When Franklin comes to him after getting the kilo from the crazy kingpin, his uncle wants no part of it, but his aunt is on board.

Outside of Franklin's family, we meet a wrestler in the first episode named Gustavo(Sergio Peris-Mencheta). Franklin is a big fan of his, but he is not a good wrestler, and he wants to get involved in the family business, robbery. He wants this life because he is in love with a woman that happens to be involved as well, she is not related, so he wants to prove to her that he can be a tough guy. He is a quiet, stoic dude that seems to be in over his head. There is also Teddy(Carter Hudson), who seems to have a regular office job, but he is a "cleaner" outside of his regular everyday job. I like Teddy, even though he is kind of a cliché character in a show like this. He is too smart for his own good, had a breakdown but now wants back in the game type guy. He could be very important, and possibly even a cool character, if the show goes by it right.

There was a lot of drugs, sex, shooting and even death in the first 2 episodes. Like I said at the top, the show has potential, it just has to find out what it wants to be. There are a lot of different characters to follow, but it is not like "The Wire". No show will ever be like "the Wire". "The Wire" is classic, so "Snowfall" should stop trying to cop that style. "Snowfall" can be good, but it will never reach what "The Wire" was. There is a little bit of "Breaking Bad" in there, what with Franklin being a good kid that just happens to do a bad thing. Again though, don't try to copy off the classics. John Singleton's name is attached, so there is a good amount of "Boyz in the Hood" type vibe to it, but I say a third time, don't try to copy the greatest pop culture stuff of all time. "Snowfall" needs to find its own voice.

I still have a good amount of faith though. I was never bored during the first 2 episodes, and I'm excited for the third this Wednesday. I hope this show gets better and sticks around. I like everyone involved and it has the feel of something that can succeed. It just has to stop trying to be a show that it is not. Time will tell with "Snowfall". But for now, if you like crime/drug type stories, I say give "Snowfall" a chance.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also doesn't want shows to copy "Family Double Dare", "Saved By the Bell: The College Years", and "Teen Mom 2". Leave the classics alone.

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