Three years after Snowfall ended, its story is returning through the world of music. The Drop: A Snowfall Saga premiered on Tuesday, September 8, taking viewers back to 1990s Los Angeles, where the fallout from the crack epidemic meets the rise of West Coast rap.
The eight-episode series follow familiar Snowfall characters Wanda Bell and Leon Simmons as they attempt to build different futures in a city where music, street politics and money are becoming increasingly connected.
Created by Malcolm Spellman, The Drop isn't trying to recreate Snowfall. It moves the franchise into a different period and industry, using the emergence of gangsta rap to explore what happens when a culture born on the streets begins attracting serious commercial interest.
Treasure Ayanfe Adetula
When and Where Can Viewers Watch it?
The Drop: A Snowfall Saga premiered on September 8 at 9 p.m. ET on FX and Hulu in the US. New episodes are being released weekly, with the season scheduled to run through October 27. International viewers can also find the series on Disney+, with the show arriving on the service from September 9 in some markets.
Can The Drop Work Without Franklin Saint?
That is one of the major questions surrounding the new series. Damson Idris’ Franklin was the central figure of Snowfall, and his transformation from an ambitious young man into a ruthless drug kingpin gave the original show its main dramatic engine. The Drop does not attempt to replace him with another version of Franklin.
Instead, Wanda and Leon become the bridge between the two series. The Wrap noted that the new series was always going to be different without Idris, but argued that this was not necessarily a weakness because The Drop can establish its own identity rather than trying to repeat what worked in Snowfall.
That choice could ultimately be important to the franchise. A spinoff that simply copied Snowfall’s structure would risk feeling like an extension that exists only because the original was successful. By moving into music, The Drop has a chance to explore another side of the same city and period.
Subscribe for free to continue reading this article
Subscribe SubscribeAlready have an account? Log in
