John Singleton’s hit FX original series “Snowfall” is over, ending on April 19 after six years in production. But the original pilot, which was pitched to Showtime in April 2014, was a slightly different show with a different cast.
“Snowfall” is set in the 1980s during the crack epidemic in Los Angeles and follows the lives of several characters involved in the drug trade, but its main character is Franklin Saint, played by Damson Idris, a young street entrepreneur who sees an opportunity to make money selling crack cocaine.
Franklin teams up with his uncle Jerome, played by Amin Joseph, and his friend Leon, played by Isaiah John, to start their own drug operation.
Meanwhile, Teddy McDonald, played by Carter Hudson, is a CIA operative tasked with funding the Contras in Nicaragua by selling drugs in Los Angeles.
Teddy partners with a Mexican cartel leader, Alejandro Usteve, Juan Javier Cardenas, to transport cocaine into the U.S.
The third main character is Lucia Villanueva, Emily Rios, the daughter of a Mexican crime boss who takes over her family’s drug business after her father’s arrest. Lucia becomes a major player in the Los Angeles drug trade and forms an alliance with Franklin’s crew.
As the series progresses, the characters become entangled in a web of violence, betrayal and corruption as they navigate the dangerous world of drug trafficking. The show explores themes of power, race, class, and the human cost of the war on drugs.
The version pitched to Showtime, however, according to Deadline, “Told through the eyes of a young Black kid from Compton, a Mexican wrestler and a CIA agent charged with running money to the Contras, ‘Snowfall’ will examine the beginnings of the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles. Allegedly fueled by CIA involvement stemming from the Iran-Contra affair, the drug started flowing to the U.S. in 1984, with Los Angeles as the first city to get hit hard.”
When the Showtime pitch fell through, Singleton took his show to FX in 2015, with Deadline again describing the show as “focuses on a trio of main characters – ambitious dealer Franklin Saint, ex-Mexican wrestler and now gangster Gustavo Zapata and prodigal son Logan Miller.”
For those who have not seen the show, the following information consists of spoilers: Logan Miller in the show is the CIA field agent who was replaced by Teddy McDonald after he died of a cocaine overdose.
Teddy McDonald was originally going to be played by Tony-nominated actor Billy Magnussen, who was cast as an early version of Rob Volpe, a friend of Franklin Saint.
The show went through development hell, sometimes referred to as development purgatory or development limbo, which is when a medium, concept, or idea remains in an early development stage for a long time, often stuck for legal, technical, or artistic reasons.
The show’s June 2015 script was leaked, and a 2016 Deadline news report shows that reshoots, rewrites, and changes were made to the show.
The show “Snowfall” premiered on FX on July 5, 2017.
In September 2016, FX officially announced the Singleton series, and according to Black Film, there were last-minute revisions to the cast.
Damson Idris as Franklin Saint
Isaiah John as Leon Simmons
Sergio Peris-Mencheta as Gustavo Zapata
Carter Hudson as Teddy McDonald
Emily Rios as Luica Villanueva
Filipe Valle Costa as Pedro Nava
Billy Magnussen as Logan Miller
Amin Joseph as Jerome Saint
Andrew Howard as Avi Drexler
Juan Javier Cardenas as Alejandro Usteves
Michael Hyatt as Cissy Saint
Angela Lewis as Aunt Louie
Malcolm Mays as Kevin
Alon Aboutboul as Avi
