Image source: FX
The reign of “Snowfall” has come to an end, but the cast and crew are pleased with the epic six-season run of their series. “Looking at the totality of it, I’m just so proud that it went the distance,” cocreator Dave Androne told POPSUGAR, reflecting on the legacy of the FX show. “We managed to create something that means so much to so many people. We got to end the story the way we wanted and on our own terms, with FX’s blessing. And it was an incredibly special and gratifying moment.” The thing is.”
“We got to tell our story from beginning to end. It makes me extremely proud, grateful and very excited.”
For the past six seasons, “Snowfall” has built the world of the critically acclaimed crime drama, as Damson Idris’s Franklin Saint would say, “brick by brick.” Set against the backdrop of ’80s South Central LA, the gritty, true-life-inspired series chronicles how an off-the-book CIA operation contributed to the birth of the crack epidemic and, ultimately, the destruction of Franklin’s family. Gave. Now, out April 19, “Snowfall” comes to an end with an ending that Amin Joseph, who plays the late Jerome Saint, calls “bittersweet.”
The “Snowfall” actor tells POPSUGAR that there were “definitely tears” on the last day of filming for season six, but he’s “really ecstatic, proud and happy that we’re really here to close the book” on the series. His co-star Angela Lewis, who plays Saint’s wife Louie, says, “It’s been a slow burn to the end, but I’m so excited and really, really excited to close this chapter and get ready for a new one.” I am happy.” [one] , , , We got to tell our story from beginning, middle, end. It makes me feel extremely proud, grateful and very excited.”
Image source: FX
Since its debut in July 2017, “Snowfall” has taken audiences on a revolutionary journey with Franklin, from his days as a broke college student to a street entrepreneur, to an epic rise in the drug game And with the final demise. With the help of allies such as his mother, Sissy Saint (Michael Hyatt); Uncle Jerome (Joseph); Auntie Louis (Louise); best friend Leon (Isaiah John); fallen fellow-enemy Teddy (Carter Hudson); and pregnant girlfriend, Veronique (Devin A. Tyler), Franklin reaches the epitome of what he thought success looked like – a multi-millionaire businessman who manipulated a system designed to fail him. But money, power and greed proved to be his sore spot by the end of the series, leaving the once-respected mogul almost unrecognizable after hitting rock bottom.
Picking up immediately after the shocking events of the penultimate episode of season six, the series finale of “Snowfall” finds Franklin still desperate to hold on to his dwindling fortune – most of which he lost when his mother killed Teddy, who was about to transfer $37 million into his bank account. With Sissy in prison, Jerome dead, Louie on the run from the law, Leon in Africa, and Véronique absent at his lowest point, a down-and-out Franklin spiral during a three-plus-year time jump—which ends with him being a broke, lonely alcoholic who has been thrown out of his mother’s paid-for home (that he failed to keep up with the property taxes). Andron says it’s a jarring, unexpected conclusion that was inspired by finales we’ve traditionally seen in other TV series.
“Until very late in the game, everything was on the table,” he explains. ,[Franklin] could have died He could have gone to jail. There were versions that we thought were like, ‘What if he makes it out of money and loses his soul?’ After all, this was something the writers in the room had come up with over the course of the last season or two. That notion, ‘Can we do something that feels different from the fates of great TV anti-heroes of the past? Something that seems really special, true for our world, for Franklin, and all that he’s gone through?'”
In the end, in the series finale the author says that Franklin has “burned every bridge” and “done every terrible thing to try to get this money” – but his failure to do so is something she doesn’t understand. Can. “I never saw Franklin as a psychopath,” Andron says. “I think he felt the weight of these horrible things that he had done. He rationalized them and continued, and he told himself it was going to happen anyway. But at the end of it, there’s nothing more rationalization.” He really has to face for everything that he has done and he has nothing to show for it.
Image source: FX
Franklin’s overarching story of “Snowfall” began with Andron, co-creator Eric Amadio and the late, great John Singleton, who died on April 28, 2019, at age 51 — two days from the premiere of his show’s third season. less than a month ago. The filmmaker and TV producer famously cast London native Idris as the lead of his series – deeply rooted in Singleton’s South Central roots – and made it his own cultural phenomenon before leaving it in his own hands Molded the first part of. Dear cast and crew.
Joseph recalls losing Singleton while he and his castmates were still shooting season three. “It was surreal,” he shares. “One day, you have your Helmer, and then the next day, it felt like … it was madness.” Although continuing the series without Singleton steering the ship was “bittersweet,” the actor says it came easily because the director gave the “Snowfall” crew all the tools they needed to be great.
“He’s got all the intent, the goodwill, the enthusiasm, the magic, the renaissance man, the passion, the forethought to put people in position and empower people. Telling people how he grew up, and what kind of people these [we’re playing], your character will be inspired by this; Taking you to the neighborhood where those people are, inviting you and taking you on their boat, to meet their mother, showing you all the things that make their story special to them — that lives in you,” Joseph continues. People like that, and that in itself was a great lesson. Of course, we had to pick up the ball and be who he was to other people, but at least It was already modeled.”
Image Source: Getty / Christopher Polk
Rarely do shows like “Snowfall” — which center black stories, black characters and black history — make enough to complete their arcs from start to finish in an unpredictable TV landscape. But the FX staple changed the game, and artists like Lewis consider it an honor to be a part of that history — history forever linked to Singleton’s groundbreaking legacy.
“‘Boyz n the Hood’ began shooting in September of 1990, and this is absolutely a tribute, tip of the hat to him and the stories Franklin built to tell about the neighborhood.”
Lewis says, “It’s a wonderful thing to be part of so many legacies. ‘Snowfall’ is a legacy in itself, and then there’s the legacy that ‘Snowfall’ is related to: John Singleton’s.” “John Singleton was a giant of a human being. He changed so many lives. He fought for so many people, for equity – in front of and behind the camera, for storytelling integrity, for his stories to be told with authenticity.” Together. He was fighting for so many things, and to be a part of that, to see that the people whose lives he’s changed – including mine – I’m like, ‘Wow.’ .
Week after week, leading up to the finale of “Snowfall,” fans and cast members have celebrated Singleton’s remarkable influence on social media — from revisiting his iconic films like 1991’s “Boyz n the Hood” to “Snowfall.” But the most heartfelt and brilliant “Snowfall” tribute of them all is the Easter egg in the series finale: a scene in which Franklin and Leon walk past a film set in the 1990s South Central. Singleton A direct nod to K.’s iconic 1991 directorial debut. “‘Boyz n the Hood’ began shooting in September of 1990, and it’s absolutely an homage, tip of the hat to him and the neighborhood Franklin created stories to be told,” Andron confirmed.
Although “Snowfall” officially closes the book on this particular chapter, Andron teases that there may be more to explore down the line with a rumored spinoff. As first reported by Deadline, there has been talk of an offshoot that could potentially star Gale Bean’s fan-favorite character Wanda, though the cocreator stressed that nothing is official yet. Not there. “‘Snowfall’ clearly resonated with a lot of people, so there’s still a story to tell.”
What would that story be? We’ll have to stay tuned to find out (though Leon’s update on Wanda in the finale is a small hint). But if it’s made with the same amount of love and passion as “Snowfall,” we’re definitely in for another epic tale.