"Snowfall" review
I didn't want the first show to end!
Source: CNN, by Brian Lowry
The dirty business of drugs is a crowded neighborhood on television these days. Yet "Snowfall" carves out its own turf, delivering a potent cocktail garnished with elements of "The Wire," "Traffic" and "Narcos," as the early days of crack cocaine unfold from multiple perspectives.
It's 1983 in Los Angeles, where the abundant palm trees serve notice all that white powder isn't snow; rather, it's the riches associated with dealing coke, a high-risk exercise to say the least.
Co-created by director John Singleton ("Boyz N the Hood" with Eric Amadio and Dave Andron, the drama actually benefits from a relatively unknown cast, adding to the sense of verisimilitude around this spare, bleak drama.
*****
At its best, "Snowfall" illustrates the unintended consequences and collateral damage associated with drugs -- characters enter into new alliances at their peril -- while revisiting the CIA's role and shady dealings to advance its foreign-policy objectives.
Frankly, the series might seem a little superfluous, given the aforementioned titles in its genre. Yet sharp execution makes this a credible companion to those productions -- cracking open another window into the complications surrounding a seemingly endless "drug war," still being fought decades after everyone supposedly learned to "Just Say No."
Read it at: http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/05/entertainment/snowfall-tv-review/index.html