‘Snowfall’ Producer on Franklin Facing the Damage His Career Has Caused

Ileane Rudolph August 21, 2019, 9:00 am

Snowfall - Damson Idris — Ray Mickshaw/FX

The FX drama Snowfall — chronicling the ’80s crack epidemic and its effect on South Central L.A. — has been truly living up to its name in Season 3: Business is booming, and on Wednesday, the show’s intersecting characters, all cogs in the drug trade, face life-changing choices.

In the most emotion-charged storyline, ambitious young dealer Franklin Saint (Damson Idris, above) can no longer ignore the damage his career choice has inflicted.

“This is the first time Franklin must face what he’s doing. His emotions get shut down,” reveals consulting producer (and bestselling author) Walter Mosley. In fact, the dangers really hit home when Franklin goes looking for his next-door neighbor and first love, Melody Wright (Reign Edwards, below), who he knows has dabbled in coke.

“When crack hit, it was such a new drug. We never had that kind of addiction before where some people smoke it two or three times and that’s it,” Mosley notes. “Their lives are changed, everything is gone.”

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Mel’s father, crusading cop Andre (Marcus Henderson), blames Franklin and his ilk for their community’s rapid decline, but Franklin can’t quite acknowledge that what he’s doing is wrong. Says Mosley: “He hasn’t gotten to that place.”

Shows like Snowfall (cocreated by late Boyz n the Hood writer-director John Singleton) are often accused of glorifying violence and drugs, but Mosley dismisses such criticism. “That couldn’t be further from the truth,” he says. “It’s re-creating that sadness. So people can see and understand what happened.”