by FX’s long-running drama Snowfall will come to an end after six seasons, it was confirmed yesterday (April 5).
The show, which is currently midway through its fifth season, will have a sixth season finale, but it will be its final act.
Snowfall was created by legendary director John Singleton, the man behind the hit 1991 drama Boyz n the Hood. This film saw him nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and in doing so he became the first and youngest African American to be nominated for the award.
Set in Los Angeles in 1983, Snowfall chronicled the impact as crack hits the streets for the first time and the impact of the drug on so many lives. Among those he follows are a 20-year-old drug dealer, a Mexican wrestler, a CIA agent, and the niece of a Mexican crime boss.
Their fates quickly intertwine as people get richer and drugs enter more and more people’s lives. Snowfall has a large cast, but features Damson Idris, Carter Hudson, Emily Rios, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Michael Hyatt, and Amin Joseph in key roles.
The show was commissioned in 2016 by FX, when FX was a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox, and aired on FX as well as FX+, the channel’s premium subscription service, which aired ad-free content. .
After Fox was acquired by Disney in March 2019, Snowfall remained on FX, but was also released on Hulu. (opens in a new tab) from its fourth season.
Singleton sadly passed away in 2019, three months before the show’s third season aired, but she carried on in her place.
Is the cancellation a surprise?
Not really. Six seasons is a pretty good run for a show that has an ongoing narrative, rather than a weekly procedural angle, and the Snowfall creative team now has the security of one final season to dot all the i’s and get through all his T’s.
Speaking about the decision, Nick Grad, President of Original Programming at FX, said: “FX first teamed up with legendary writer/director John Singleton and the rest of the creative team six years ago to pursue their vision of an ambitious and powerful drama about the explosion of the crack epidemic of the early 80s.”
He continued, “Today, as the fifth season of Snowfall reaches new heights of acclaim and ratings, there is no doubt that this series has become a classic FX drama. We are thrilled to order a sixth season that will allow Dave Andron, Walter Mosley, and the rest of the producers to bring Snowfall to a climatic finale showcasing the genius of everyone involved, from the stellar cast led by Damson Idris, to the writers, directors, artists and to the team.
Idris, who is now the show’s producer as well as its star, added, “I’m incredibly proud of the history we’ve all made. Especially the impact Snowfall has had on culture. It’s very rare For a TV show to come to the sixth mark of the season and say goodbye to “Franklin Saint” will be heartbreaking. But the family and relationships I’ve made on this journey will last a lifetime. I know John Singleton look down, smiling and proud.”
The show’s fifth season will end on April 20, with the sixth and final one set to air in 2023.
