Snowfall is an American crime drama television series, created by John Singleton, Eric Amadio, and Dave Andron.

[8] In August 2019, FX renewed the series for a fourth season which was originally scheduled to premiere in 2020,[9] but filming was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[16] Primarily set in Los Angeles between the years 1983 and 1986, the series revolves around the first crack epidemic and its impact on the city, and the stories of several characters whose lives are fated to intersect: 20-year-old drug dealer Franklin Saint, Mexican luchador Gustavo "El Oso" Zapata, CIA operative Teddy McDonald, and a Mexican crime boss's niece, Lucia Villanueva.

She refuses to speak to Franklin and admits to Leon that her son is "lost," but calls him one of her "greatest surprises" and advises him to go back to Accra with Wanda.

Two years later, Marino is hunting Louie, while Gustavo works as a wrestling teacher and is contacted by Xiamara, who invites him to see their family in North Carolina.

Another year later, Leon returns to South Central to start a legal clinic and finds that Franklin is now a rambling alcoholic living in Cissy's dilapidated house.

The site's critical consensus for the first season reads, "Snowfall struggles to create a compelling drama from its separate storylines, despite Singleton's accurate recreation of 1983 Los Angeles and a strong lead performance from Damson Idris.

[78] Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture called Snowfall a clever constructed thriller that reaches the "standard Scorsese/Tarantino", praising "the attention it pays to the sights, sounds and textures of people's lives in 1983 Los Angeles, and to fine details of characterization — in other words, the sort of stuff that would never get a dramatic series a green light unless drugs and violence were attached to it."

[80] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com found the series narratively ambitious and applauded the performances of the cast members, stating the actors represent the show's greatest asset, writing, "Idris is a fantastic find, conveying a combination of intelligence and innocence that makes Franklin's arc feel genuine.

"[81] Ed Power of The Telegraph rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, saying, "It's slick and breezy – far too enamoured with its roguish characters to do justice to a cathartic chapter in the history of modern Los Angeles.

[83] Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx gave a mixed review of the series, criticizing the show's clichéd storytelling and pacing; the latter he observed, "oddly feels sluggish and rushed at the same time, lingering over certain tasks and story beats... but then oddly jumping over story points in a way that had me frequently checking to be sure I hadn't skipped an episode by mistake."

"[84] The plotline that the CIA fostered the crack epidemic through cocaine trafficking in order to raise money for the Contras in Nicaragua is based on Gary Webb's controversial 1996 investigative series in the San Jose Mercury News and its follow-up book Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.

According to executive producer Dave Andron, the show's writers worked with the premise that Webb's reporting was factual; however, he acknowledged that he did not "think there was any conspiracy to bring crack to the inner city or destroy a people.

[86] In March 2023, a Snowfall spin-off series, starring Gail Bean reprising her role as Wanda Simmons, was reported to be in early development.