John Singleton

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“Snowfall” ends; Idris soars

In the fierce, six-year run of “Snowfall,” Damson Idris has mostly been ignored by awards voters.
That’s understandable. Idris’ job, which he did perfectly, was to play Franklin Saint (shown here in an earlier episode), a cool-eyed drug kingpin. Hollywood doesn’t give awards for stoic and stony.
But now all of that changes with the series finale, at 10 p.m. Wednesday (April 19) on FX, rerunning at 11:39 p.m. and 1:06 and 2:39 a.m., then going to Hulu. The steely exterior is gone; Idris gives a performance that’s … well, Pacino-esque. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 18, 2023
Stories

An ’80s epic starts a compelling (and final) season

Eight years ago, an unknown English actor met a well-known American producer-director-writer.
Damson Idris had done a few plays, a few TV episodes, one movie; he knew nothing about the chaotic 1980s era in South Central Los Angeles. John Singleton knew everything about it.
They ate Jamaican food in South Central and talked. And then? “He waited for me to get home,” Idris told the Television Critics Association, “before calling me and telling me, ‘Hey, you got the part.’”
That’s the lead role in “Snowfall” (shown here with Idris), the fierce and compelling drama starting its sixth and final season. Its first two episodes – 10 and 11:11 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 22) on FX, then going to Hulu – conclude with a sensational scene pitting Idris (as Franklin) against Amin Joseph (as Jerome, his uncle). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2023
News and Quick Comments

With death and dismay, ‘Snowfall’ nears season-finale

From the start, “Snowfall” had delivered sharp jabs.
Lucia had most of her family killed … then vanished. Franklin, the brainy teen, became a drug boss; his friends became killers.
Still, nothing matched the latest jolt: Franklin casually killed Andre, the honest neighborhood cop. On the day of the funeral, Melody – Andre’s daughter, Franklin’s ex-girlfriend– shot him three times and left him to die.
What’s going on? As the season-finale arrives, viewers might incorrectly expect the worst: Maybe Franklin’s being killed and the show – whose co-creator, John Singleton (shown here), died in April at 51, after a stroke – is being cancelled. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 9, 2019