The Following story contains spoilers for Snowfall Season 5
Since July 2017, FX’s drama series Snowfall has been a visceral reminder of how the war on drugs changed America forever. Co-created by the late director John Singleton, who helmed such iconic movies as Boyz n The Hood, the show delivered classic gangster flick-level quality every week, bringing the uncompromising gruesomeness and sociological commentary on drug dealing and addiction of the best from the genre. “I really wanted to see the transition from what we saw in my first movie, Boyz n the Hood, to how it got that way,” Singleton told Thrillist in 2017. The show made leading man Damson Idris an international star and gave FX its most-watched show ever while not being afraid to make fans fall in love with characters right before they pump their chest full of bullets.
Set in 1980s Los Angeles during the cocaine epidemic, Snowfall is quite literally a coming-of-age story on crack. Centered on Franklin Saint (Damson Idris), Snowfall has spent five seasons paralleling Franklin’s growth from teenager to a man with his ascension from impressionable helper of his uncle Jerome Saint’s (Amin Joseph) street cannabis business to the biggest seller of crack cocaine in all of Los Angeles. What started as an earnest attempt to rise out of poverty to chase the American dream of financial stability for him and his family slowly and terrifyingly morphed into Franklin being an initially unwitting participant in the United States government and President Ronald Reagan’s covert attempt at funding Nicaraguan Contra rebels’ fight against Cuban-backed Sandinistas trying to bring communism to the region. Thanks to CIA operative turned obsessive drug dealer Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson) supplying Franklin with the purest cocaine straight from Colombia, Franklin became rich, and the government got their war funding at the expense of too many dead bodies to count. Through Franklin, Snowfall viewers got a candid look at how the United States’ war on drugs eroded the humanity of anyone associated— dealer, user, or bystander.
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While Snowfall is Singleton’s brainchild, the Academy Award-winning director passed away weeks before the premiere of Season 3. But, his impact on the scintillating period drama was felt long after his death. “The greatest thing is he left us all the codes to carry on, and he left us with a passion,” Idris told The Source in 2021. Now, Singleton’s last TV project is nearing its conclusion, its core characters have either evolved beyond recognition or been damaged beyond recovery, and all that’s left to ask is: How does this wild ride end?
What will Season 6 of Snowfall Be About?
The Season 5 finale set the stage for a bloodbath of a final season, the likes of which we’ve never seen on Snowfall. Everyone has formed their alliances, and most of their targets are each other. Teddy cleaned out all $73 million of Franklin’s drug money stored in Cayman Island accounts because Franklin decided to leave his operation to live an honest life. In retaliation, Franklin and his mother, Cissy, with the help of the KGB, will be on the warpath to take down Teddy and anyone in their way, including family.
By the looks of the gripping trailer, family is exactly who will be his warring adversaries. After an enraged Franklin discovers his aunt Louie over her and his uncle Jerome surreptitiously cut him out of their business dealings by going directly to Teddy for their cocaine supply, he robs their stash house of millions of dollars in cash and cocaine which is practically a declaration of war. At one point in the trailer, Franklin pulls a gun on his uncle, the same man who he once went to for protection and guidance as he navigated a treacherous road to the American Dream lined with blood and crack pipes.
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While everyone is coming at each other’s necks, Leon will likely be the only person from the core cast who has entirely removed himself from the drug game after taking Wanda to Africa. Before leaving at the end of Season 5, the enlightened gangster revealed the threat that will likely overshadow everyone in Season 6: The U.S. government. Leon informed his crew about Congress passing a new bill that would stipulate possession of one gram of crack cocaine would garner the same punishment as possession of 100 grams of powder cocaine. He’s likely referring to the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 that President Ronald Reagan signed into law, which mandated a minimum sentence of five years without parole for possession of five grams of crack cocaine while offering the same punishment for possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine.
The final season looks to be centered on warring factions fighting inside a mousetrap the U.S. government is prepared to slam shut at any moment. But, with Franklin seemingly willing to do the KGB’s bidding of proving the United States government had disseminated cocaine in its own country, the government may be in for a rude awakening.
Who will be in the Snowfall Season 6 cast?
Outside of leading man Damson Idris, Carter Hudson (Teddy McDonald), Isaiah John (Leon Simmons), Amin Joseph (Jerome Saint), Sergio Peris-Mencheta (Gustavo ‘El Oso’ Zapata), Angela Lewis (Aunt Louie), and Michael Hyatt (Cissy Saint) are the only actors/actresses to appear in at least 40 out of the show’s 50 episodes. Each of them survives the Season 5 finale and plays pivotal roles in setting up the tension of Season 6, so it’s a safe bet they’ll all appear in the sixth season. But they’ll be joined by a few new faces that made a name for themselves in Season 5.
Devyn Tyler will more than likely appear in Season 6 after becoming a Season Five standout as Veronique, the mother of Franklin’s unborn child. Her last Season 5 scene involved her calling an unknown person asking for help after Franklin advised her to leave town while he goes to war to preserve the life he promised her. It’s entirely likely the person Veronique was asking for help was her con-artist mother, who she’s mentioned numerous times in Season 5, and who could make an appearance in the final season of Snowfall. DeVaughn Nixon is also practically confirmed to appear in Season 6 as rival drug dealer Kane after he learned Louie’s assassination attempt had paralyzed him in the hospital, ensuring he’ll be out for revenge next season. Alejandro Edda’s job as KGB spy Rubén is nowhere near over, and he’ll probably appear in the final season to bring Teddy to either justice, a grave, or both.
Unfortunately, not everyone made it out of Season 5 with their lives. Alon Aboutboul’s run as the Israeli drug lord and gun runner Avi Drexler ended in the Season 5 finale after Rubén killed him after extracting the information he needed to expose Teddy and the CIA. Final seasons have a tendency to recollect on the journey the characters have taken, so we’re not ruling out Avi appearing in Season 6 in a flashback.
Is Season 6 the final season of Snowfall?
Yes. The empire Franklin Saint built brick by brick (of cocaine) will be returning for a sixth season before leaving our TV screens, likely forever. Days before everyone was tripping on LSD at Louie and Jerome’s drug dealer-filled wedding in the eighth episode of the fifth season, FX renewed the critically acclaimed drama for a sixth and final season. Snowfall showrunner Dave Andron has been attached to the series since helping rewrite Singleton and Amadio’s pilot in April 2016 and recollected on the six-year journey of helping turn Singleton’s vision into TV reality. “To tell a story worth telling, with creative partners you respect and admire, at a network that supports you throughout and allows you to end on your terms. That’s the dream. I am so grateful to everyone at FX, from John Landgraf on down to the entire Snowfall family for helping us get there. If only John Singleton could be with us for the end.”
Idris was a relatively unknown 23-year-old actor before slipping into the Lacoste T-Shirt, Dickies, and Converses to transform into Franklin Saint. As a 30-year-old leading man who told Men’s Health he’s seen how the show has changed lives, the end of the most influential era of his young career is not lost on him one bit. “I’m incredibly proud of the history we have all made. Especially the impact Snowfall has had on the culture. A TV show rarely gets to the sixth season mark, and saying goodbye to Franklin Saint will be heartbreaking. But the family and relationships I’ve made on this journey will last a lifetime. I know John Singleton is looking down, smiling proud.”
When will Season 6 of Snowfall come out?
For the third season in a row, Snowfall‘s newest season will premiere in the third week of February when it hits FX on February 22 at 10 PM ET.
Keith Nelson is a writer by fate and journalist by passion, who has connected dots to form the bigger picture for Men’s Health, Vibe Magazine, LEVEL MAG, REVOLT TV, Complex, Grammys.com, Red Bull, Okayplayer, and Mic, to name a few.
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