After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and after the death of show creator John Singleton, Singleton’s FX series Snowfall returned for season four.
The season picked up in 1985, with lead Franklin Sait (played by Damson Idris) trying to stop a gang war from erupting in South Central Los Angeles. During a virtual press conference for the new season, Damson spoke about the good boy gone bad character arc that his character follows saying, “To see Franklin grow into the man, he is today I, as an actor have also grown into the man, I am today, so the whole journey has been fantastic and as we move into season four and Franklin’s less sure of himself and he’s more vulnerable and more vulnerable than we’ve ever seen him, I think, as an audience and as a viewer that’s going to be fantastic to see because he’s not James Bond and he isn’t always going to you know overcome adversity you don’t know if he’s going to win or if he’s going to lose, I think the season for that reason is, in my opinion, the best season four.” Idris also chimed in that he’s enjoying the ride on the dark side saying, “And I’m definitely enjoying being a demon.” But he also made clear he himself isn’t as bold as franklin is in regards to the drug business portrayed in the show, “If I was Franklin I probably would have given up trying to get into the drug business as soon as I heard that gunshot outside of his house.” “I think the interesting thing about Franklin is he is an opportunist and, although he wants to expand, the beauty of this season is him giving back going back, and trying to undo some of the wrongs that he’s contributed to his community So although he may be slightly greedy, in a sense, he also has a conscience and that’s why it’s brilliant for me to play him.” Idris added about Franklin’s efforts of redemption to come this season.
Carter Hudson also takes a ride on the dark side as CIA operative Teddy McDonald spoke about if he approached his character differently this time around saying, “I guess I don’t know that I approached it any differently except that I think I try to start every season as a kind of evolving experiment on its own terms, free of the seasons that have come before it. And so, this season I think specifically was about exploring pain.” Carter added, “Well you know it’s weird to do a job this long for actors because most jobs don’t go this long, especially [since] I had worked mostly in theater before this so those jobs are much shorter. So, they always start to dovetail with everything that’s happening in real life over time. It’s always very sort of surreal. That it’s an exercise in disintegration. It’s a slow burn but the edges are fraying more and more, what it takes to continue changes over time. And the answer to why he’s doing this changes over time. And we’re kind of always in dialogue amongst ourselves about where we are on that journey.”
The father-son bond between Franklin and his father Alton (Kevin Carroll) plays a central role in the series, which Carroll spoke about the importance saying, “You know, like so many young men of color, who grew up in a household without a father. Anytime that we can find elements of healing in the work, it becomes more than a job, it actually becomes a relationship. And it fulfills the part of us, as artists, and really attempts to make a difference. So, for me, there is no stronger position in the industry than plan a black father, especially one where we see him, loving on his son, right, wrong or indifferent, loving, with his wife, right, or indifferent and attempting to heal the community. There is no better job in television, I dare you to find. Right. When we talk about being on the edge of healing. So, it’s amazing that this country is I would say, playing with the idea of having this conversation where we are open to hearing the cries of those who may have not found their self-empowerment yet. This country is starting to at least pretend like some people are listening, and there is no better time to find a crack in the door, and try to open it, even if it’s a millimeter more with a sense of healing. So, this show has given us that. Dave [Andron], Walter [Mosley], thank you to John Singleton for offering this opportunity. And it’ll be interesting to see just how invested we are as a show, as a community, to continue this conversation because I don’t think there’s a stronger conversational piece to have in any element of the show, than starting the conversation of how black fathers contribute to their families and have contributed in the past.”
With all that goes on in the world of Snowfall, the writers have their work cut out for them. Series writer Walter Mosley said during press conference, “We don’t have a problem of what to do, our problem is what not to do there’s some like you said there’s so much that that that we’re bringing to the fore and also there are these different audiences they’re the people who you know. john’s people who lived through this and have never been able to see themselves or their world on this kind of screen and on the other hand, there are a whole bunch of other people who are all of a sudden living in a world that’s as questionable as that one was then, and who are seeing it and who recognize maybe not exactly what happened, but the situation that they find them in and so you know you, you need to bring in as many people as possible and then try to make it work. There’s a kind of alchemy that, luckily our actors and directors, have been able to keep up with.”
During the conference it was also asked would any characters getting a spinoff. After jokingly commenting on Snowfall spinoffs, Dave Andron expressed that they’re focused on getting through the main stories in the current Snowfall series before moving on to spinoffs.