As a fan of shows like Power and The Deuce, my family recommended I check this out. At the time (2017), I was exhausted with seeing Black people as killers, drug dealers, and slaves. So, I put it off for about three years. Then in 2020, I saw people in my Facebook feed raving about how great Snowfall was. After watching a few episodes, I was hooked.

The main thing that caught my eye is the look of the show. It’s brilliantly colorful and stylized like a pop music video. You can see every scar or bit of acne on a person face. Dialogue is realistic and believable. Sure, there are naive characters, but they learn real quick how to not be stupid. Which leads to my next subject, the violence. I love it!

People die in this show, get shot, beat up, and worse. This is not for squeamish individuals, listen to me. It takes place in Los Angeles during the 1980s when the crack epidemic started to explode. We learn about the key figures that played a role in this American epoch. From government conspiracy to the pushers on the corner, you see it all play out on screen.

You get to see how it affected different communities as well as the people that distributed the product. The cast is astonishing in how they humanize the characters. You want to root for them even when they’re doing something really heinous. It’s a great watch that will leave your jaw on the floor. Snowfall, Season 1 earns an 8.5 out of 10.