By Three years after FX’s “Snowfall” ended, the show’s first spin-off is finally here. Originally announced in 2023, “The Drop: A Snowfall Story” follows fan-favorite Wanda Bell (Gail Bean) as she embarks on a career in the music industry after finally getting clean from drugs. She, along with her cousins Lemar (Asante Blackk) and James (Peyton Alex Smith), uses their talents to create beats, manage talent, and bring their community together to usher in a new era of music.
While some characters are familiar, this new series feels inherently different from its predecessor. Focused on a community trying to heal from a decade that tried to rip them apart, each episode shows how intertwined the music industry and street politics have always been. As their lives become tied up with up-and-coming rapper Artillery (Simmie “Buddy” Sims III), whose newest track celebrates the death of a police officer, it becomes clear that Wanda, Lemar, and James’s lives are tethered to the realities of the community they grew up in, no matter how hard they try to escape it.
While the plot may sound generic, there’s something present within the foundation of this new series that sets it apart from other crime dramas. In each scene, there’s a freshness that emanates from the camera lens and through the performers that gaze beyond it. At the center of this is Blackk, who, seven years after a breakout performance in Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us,” has finally been given a screenplay worthy of his talents. As Lemar, he harnesses a wisdom beyond his years, perfectly emulating a man on the precarious cusp between boyhood and the harsh world of adulthood.
He, along with Wanda, is the heart of this story, and Bean is equally staggering when she’s on screen. Though this new version of her may be clean, she’s still the determined and brash woman we’ve always known. Clinging to the dreams of working at a record label, Wanda is determined to see this arc of her life through, no matter the cost. Bean is magnetic throughout it all, her eyes filled with a feverish determination, yet behind her strong outer shell lies a coldness that she harnesses like a weapon, and will define Bean’s on-screen presence for years. Each character in this new series feels lived in, like the air they breathe has transferred from the page of each episode’s script onto the yellow haze of the LA streets they exist upon.
The series is shot, blocked, and framed with life in mind; the lives of these characters, their community, and the city they live in. Every sequence has weight, not just narratively, but in the surroundings of our characters and the music they begin to share. The streets they wander feel alive, backed by a fantastic soundtrack, grounded performances, and well-crafted sets. There’s a particular sequence in the show’s first episode that sets this all in motion, when Lemar plays his first beat for Artillery and his friends. As the musician saunters down the stairs of a trap house, gauze and bandages plastered to his forehead and stomach, he begins to rap over the music blaring in the background.
“These the life and times of a rider,” he chants, as his friends repeat the words, and the original beat fades out and gives way to Larrance “Rance 1500” Dopson’s sinister score. In this moment, we see how music can bring this community together, but also how it can quickly morph from art into something bigger. The words Artillery raps seem to ricochet off the walls of the house he inhabits, and each sequence where these characters create beats and songs is electric. The sound mixing is often tethered to the performances of these actors and is used to highlight the seemingly insignificant everyday sounds and vocal inflections that go into making rap music the elevated genre it’s always been. The craft present within the series gives it a slick edge which allows the show to quickly unfold into a uniquely singular television event.
FX hasn’t simply cashed in on a spin-off of one of the company’s most impressive shows; they have given creator and writer Malcolm Spellman room to shape the future of this franchise, which proves to be a breeding ground for rich storytelling. From its magnetic, expansive cast to its exciting needle drops, each episode has an admirable freshness. In a television landscape filled to the brim with lackluster reboots, sequels, and spin-offs, “The Drop: A Snowfall Saga” manages to stand alone, bringing forth its own remarkable merit. With each well-crafted sequence, this new series proves itself a singular experience, showcasing the intricacies of music, community, and survival in a time of upheaval.
Five episodes were screened for review.
