The trailer for FX’s The Drop: A Snowfall Saga has arrived, and it’s giving us some familiar vibes. It’s a spin-off of the drug crime drama Snowfall, which introduced us to rising, reckless drug kingpin Franklin Saint and made actor Damson Idris a household name. The series, which will unfold over eight episodes, feels like it’s about to take a new direction, and social commentary is already weighing in.
What people are loving
Fans are already locked into the show’s shift from the drug game to the music business, especially as Wanda steps into a bigger role and begins chasing opportunities in the rising West Coast rap scene. The ’90s setting, street politics and return of Gail Bean and Isaiah John are also getting attention.
The biggest issue
It’s clear The Drop is about to be a mix of family ambition, the music business, street politics and 1990s Black culture, but some fans are questioning why the spinoff chose to center it around Wanda and Leon. Viewers are also wondering how this new series can still pay homage to its roots without some of the characters that made Snowfall a weekly watch you were, pardon the pun, addicted to.
The Drop doesn’t premiere until next month. While you wait, here are five shows with the DNA The Drop is serving, all of which you can watch right now to get in the headspace of business, bets and decades-past nostalgia.
New York Undercover
The Drop is set in ’90s Black culture, but New York Undercover actually lived it. Premiering in 1994, the series followed detectives J.C. Williams and Eddie Torres through a time where crime, policing, hip-hop, R&B, fashion and nightlife all collided in New York City. Nineties legends Mary J. Blige, Brandy, Boyz II Men, Keith Sweat and other artists appeared during the series.
Empire
A recording studio, ambitious artists and music-industry maneuvering? Sounds like an Empire is about to be built. On the series, Cookie and Lucious Lyon made the music business its battleground, mixing family, fame, money, betrayal and questionable decision-making over six engrossing seasons. And we still can’t get enough of the 2010s fashion Taraji P. Henson rocked in her role as the family matriarch.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan
Power Book III: Raising Kanan just reached its explosive ending, making it a perfect time to watch it back. Also set in the ’90s, the parallels between Raquel Thomas, played by Patina Miller, and Wanda are evident, with both determined to rise in their dangerous professions while trying to protect the young man at the center of their lives.
BMF
BMF is the story of the Flenory brothers, who built a criminal empire before expanding into the music world, a path that The Drop is firmly treading into. Based on Demetrius “Big Meech” and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, who founded the Black Mafia Family (BMF) in Detroit in 1985, this is a real-life story of the hustle and grit it took to make it big in the drug and music scene in that era.
Snowfall
Well, duh. If you’re going to watch The Drop: A Snowfall Saga, you might want to know exactly what the “Snowfall Saga” part means. Snowfall takes you back to 1980s Los Angeles and the beginning of Franklin Saint’s rise through the crack cocaine trade. More importantly for The Drop, this is where you’ll meet Wanda and Leon, understand what they survived and see the world the new series is building upon. Yes, it’s six seasons, but you’ve got time. The Drop doesn’t land until September 8.