the most popular genre in all of entertainment right now, especially if you include “true crime” in that distinction, and Americans really love their stories about bad guys almost getting away with it. All of the most popular streamers have sunk unbelievable money into these projects, either by adapting true stories or hiring talented screenwriters to weave tales of harrowing complexity and tabloid scandal alike. While people have been getting their thrills seeing Damson Idris in “F1” lately, his biggest star-making turn so far has been on a critically acclaimed TV crime drama with “Snowfall.” Although this show has concluded, fans who missed out the first time might want to uncover what was going on with the Hulu favorite if they’re looking for a new crime obsession.
“Snowfall” tells the story of the crack epidemic’s rise in Los Angeles, California, through the eyes of Franklin Saint, a lowly hustler who becomes a drug kingpin by the end of the series. Idris is more than just the face of Franklin Saint in “Snowfall,” he also helped produce the series, along with crime drama royalty in John Singleton, so you know the bonafides are there. Singleton paired up with Eric Amadio and Dave Andron to author a crowd-pleasing story of classic American greed and excess over on FX, which audiences flocked to en-masse as the run continued on the terrestrial network.
There’s no question that “Snowfall” was helped by bold performances from Idris, Carter Hudson, Emily Rios, and Isaiah John, with the relative increase in popularity within the crime drama genre across the board steadily pouring gasoline on the fire. It’s tempting to give total credit to the larger streaming forces at play here, but don’t be fooled, because “Snowfall” might be in the rarified air of something like “Breaking Bad” or “Narcos” when it comes to watching bad dudes doing evil on the small screen. A main character’s performance is often how these shows live and die, and “Snowfall” definitely benefits from Idris being at the top of his game.
