The gig is up for long-running Disney gangster drama Snowfall

Snowfall, FX’s long-running drama, will come to an end after six seasons, it was confirmed yesterday (April 5). 

The show, which is currently midway through its fifth season, will get a final sixth season, but that will be its final act. 

Snowfall was created by legendary director John Singleton, the man behind hit 1991 drama Boyz n the Hood. That film saw him nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, and, in the process, become the first African-American and youngest person to have ever been nominated for that award. 

Set in Los Angeles in 1983, Snowfall chronicled the impact as crack cocaine hits the streets for the first time and the drug’s impact on so many lives.  Among those it follows are a 20-year-old drug dealer, a Mexican wrestler, a CIA operative, and a Mexican crime boss’s niece. 

Their fates quickly become intertwined as people get rich and the drug finds its way into more and more people’s lives. Snowfall has a large cast, but features Damson Idris, Carter Hudson, Emily Rios, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Michael Hyatt and Amin Joseph in key roles. 

The show was commissioned in 2016 by FX, back in the days when FX was a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox, and aired on FX as well as FX+, the channel’s premium subscription service, which carried advert-free content. 

After Fox was acquired by Disney in March of 2019, Snowfall remained on FX, but was also released on Hulu (opens in new tab) from its fourth season onwards. 

Singleton sadly died in 2019, three months before the show’s third season aired, but it has carried on in his stead. 

Is the cancelation a surprise?

Not really. Six seasons is a very good run for a show that has a rolling narrative, rather than a weekly procedural angle, and Snowfall’s creative team now have the security of a final season to dot all their i’s and cross all their T’s. 

Speaking about the decision, Nick Grad, FX’s President of Original Programming, said: “FX first partnered with legendary writer/director John Singleton and the rest of the creative team six years ago to pursue their vision for an ambitious, powerful drama about the explosion of the crack epidemic of the early 80s.”

He continued: “Today, as the fifth season of Snowfall reaches new heights of acclaim and viewership, there is no question that this series has become an FX classic drama. We are thrilled to order a sixth season that will enable Dave Andron, Walter Mosley, and the rest of the producers to bring Snowfall to a climatic finale showcasing the brilliance of everyone involved, from the stellar cast led by Damson Idris, to the writers, directors, artists and crew.”

Idris, who is now the show’s producer as well as its star, added: “I’m incredibly proud of the history we have all made. Especially the impact Snowfall has had on the culture. Very rarely does a TV show get 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.“

The show’s fifth season will wrap on April 20, with the sixth and final expected to air in 2023.