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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 6 July 2017
New series ‘Snowfall’ tells birth of cocaine in L. A.

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. first took cautioned mea-
Associated Press sures to guard their house
ATLANTA (AP) — Filmmaker to prevent home invasions
John Singleton remem- during the 1980s crack co-
bered taking a ride through caine epidemic.
a section of a south Los An- “People made it almost
geles neighborhood see- like they were imprison-
ing security bars on every ing themselves in their
window and huge metal homes,” the Los Angeles
gates surrounding each native recalled. “In the
home. early 80s, people started
The recent drive instantly breaking into people’s
reminded Singleton about houses. Crack really took
when residents in the area hold back then. ... But this

This image released by FX shows Malcolm Mays as Kevin, from left, Damson Idris as Franklin Saint
and Isaiah John as Leon on FX’s new series “Snowfall.” The first season premieres Wednesday, July
5, 2017.
Associated Press
is a story no one has ever involving a young street “When we hear about
told before. There’s always entrepreneur, a Mexican these drugs stories, we
a new cocaine story that’s wrestler tied up in a power tend to think, ‘Wow, do we
East Coast. But there’s re- struggle with a crime fam- need to see black people
ally never a story how the ily, the daughter of a Mexi- in turmoil? Or black people
West Coast changed from can crime lord and a CIA struggling?’” he said. “But I
this. So, I wanted to get into operative who begins an want people to know that
it.” off-book operation to fund this show doesn’t glorify or
Singleton co-created the the Nicaraguan Contras. glamorize crack cocaine
new series “Snowfall,” “This story is very impor- or any other drug. Kids
which focuses on the gen- tant and must be told and were born into this.
esis of how crack cocaine seen,” said Damson Idris, They are surrounded by
became a rampant epi- who plays the star charac- people who are still on this
demic in Los Angeles’ inner ter of 19-year-old Franklin drug, people who didn’t
city neighborhoods in 1983. Saint, a street-minded en- survive and was destroyed
The first season premieres trepreneur who was edu- by it.”
Wednesday on FX at 10 cated in an upper class Singleton said it took some
p.m. EDT. neighborhood. He’s deter- years for “Snowfall” to see
Singleton, an Oscar-nom- mined to get into the drug an actual premiere date.
inated writer-director, is game to take care of peo- He said Showtime was
best known for his critical- ple around him. originally supposed to air
ly-acclaimed movies from “Not only does it speak to the series, but he said the
“Boyz N the Hood,” ‘’Po- an older generation who network parted ways with
etic Justice” and “Higher may have survived or lived them because they “just
Learning.” But these days, through it, but it might didn’t get it.”
he is doing more television speak to a new genera- “It was before ‘Empire’ be-
after directing episodes of tion who may not be as in- came a hit,” he said. “It was
“Empire” and “The People formed,” he continues. “It’s a strong urban based show.
v. O.J. Simpson: American going to teach people (Showtime) just didn’t get
Crime Story” along with the about their past.” it. But when ‘Empire’ hit, FX
BET drama “Rebel.” Idris, an actor of Nigerian finally picked ‘Snowfall’ up.
“It’s like making a movie descent who grew up in I guess (Showtime) is doing
every week, instead of ev- London, said he didn’t another show that’s Chica-
ery couple of years,” he know anything about the go-based. They’re trying to
said. “For me, I like telling drug epidemic in the Unit- catch up. Get them some
stories. I have so many of ed States until he visited flavor. Everybody wants to
them. With ‘Snowfall,’ I can Los Angeles for the first time be black. They want black
tell a story about real folks and saw Skid Row — an im- people now. We’re giving
and what they are going poverished area inhabited it to them uncut, some-
through.” by the homeless. He called thing they’ve never seen
“Snowfall” tells a story of the experience “heart- before.”q
a violent collision course breaking.”