Premiering on FX and Hulu September 8th is ‘The Drop: A Snowfall Saga‘, which is a spinoff of ‘Snowfall‘ and will air its final first season episode on October 27th.
The series stars returning ‘Snowfall’ actors Gail Bean (‘The Piano Lesson‘) as Wanda Bell and Isaiah John (‘Insurgent‘) as Leon Simmons, as well as new cast members Asante Blackk (‘Euphoria‘), Peyton Alex Smith (‘Detroit‘), Mykelti Williamson (‘Forrest Gump‘), and recording artist Simmie “Buddy” Sims III.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Gail Bean and Isaiah John about their work on ‘The Drop: A Snowfall Saga’, making a spinoff, how their characters have changed since ‘Snowball’, and what they are dealing with on ‘The Drop’.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Bean, John, Asante Blackk, Peyton Alex Smith, and Simmie “Buddy” Sims III.
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Moviefone: To begin with, Gail, can you talk about your first reaction to the idea of a ‘Snowfall’ spinoff, and how has Wanda changed since the last time we saw her?
Gail Bean: Playing Wanda and just realizing I get to do it again in the ‘Snowfall’ spinoff, ‘The Drop’, I was just ecstatic to be able to continue to tell this story, because I knew there was so much story still left to tell. Our lives are not done. Even in death, we can do a biopic and learn more about ourselves and what we experience. So, it was just really nice to pick up with Wanda in a new space, having learned a lot about herself, and discovered so much from going to Ghana and returning, and what that has unlocked in her, and having this tunnel vision. That’s where we find her, on a dream, and what she’s willing to sacrifice and the cost and the adversity that she faces with patriarchy, misogyny, all types of things within this industry, and having to go back to her own neighborhood and face it ten times worse.
MF: Isaiah, can you talk about how Leon has changed since ‘Snowfall’ and what his relationship with Wanda looks like in the new series?
Isaiah John: We meet Leon in a completely new space. After the accidental killing of the little girl, he just hit a point where he knew he had to start thinking and being more intentional with his decision making. So, to be able to show that evolution from Season 4 to Season 6, and now with ‘The Drop’, I just didn’t want to even start off where I ended ‘Snowfall’, technically. Even that is a shift because there was a slight time jump as well. So, I just wanted to be honest and truthful to the elevation and trajectory that I believe Leon is on, and he’s constantly processing and learning and evolving. So, that part was really fun and interesting to tackle, for sure.
MF: Isaiah, can you also talk about Leon’s role as a peacekeeper for his community and a protector to Wanda in ‘The Drop’?
IJ: I think ultimately both of those things are deep-rooted in love. He loves his woman, and he loves his community, but he also sees that he had a hand in the detriment of the community as well. So he’s trying to find ways to pour back into that love even with the clinic, but it’s running him dry, and he’s learning lessons with that as well. So, I think everything that he’s trying to do right now is just rooted in love.
MF: Finally, Gail, can you talk about Wanda’s ambition to succeed in the music industry, why she brings her cousin Lamar along, and the hard decisions she has to make?
Gail Bean: I look at Wanda very similar to Franklin in ‘Snowfall’, when it comes to, she wants this for herself and her people. She’s not looking to just rise on her own. She wants to bring her cousin with her. She constantly tries to get Leon involved, and she’s not out for just herself. She’s out for the advancement of her people as a whole. Then somewhere it may get convoluted, but she wants Lamar to win, because she sees this vision and she knows that it has staying power. West Coast gangster rap is not an overnight success but it’s not going to be gone in the morning. We are now in 2026 and Ice Cube is still performing. Snoop Dogg is still a major act. We still all love Tupac, even in the afterlife. So, she sees something and she wants to bring everybody along with her. I think where she’s running up against resistance with Lamar because sometimes people are too smart for their own good. He’s a perfectionist and at times gets in his own way. So now it’s up to her to navigate how to help him without necessarily hurting their relationship.
What is the plot of ‘The Drop: A Snowfall Saga’?
Set in Los Angeles in 1990, roughly four years after the events of ‘Snowfall’, the series follows Wanda Bell (Gail Bean), a recovering crack cocaine addict who is determined to help take West Coast rap mainstream, and her husband Leon Simmons (Isaiah John). Wanda stakes her ambitions on her younger cousin Lamar Kinsey (Asante Blackk) and on Artillery (Simmie “Buddy” Sims III), a volatile local rapper, while gang warfare escalates in South Los Angeles and record labels move to profit from hip hop culture.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Drop: A Snowfall Saga’?
- Gail Bean as Wanda Bell
- Isaiah John as Leon Simmons
- Asante Blackk as Lamar Kinsey
- Peyton Alex Smith as James Kinsey
- Simmie “Buddy” Sims III as Artillery
- Mykelti Williamson as James “Big Daddy” Kinsey
- Brandon Mychal Smith as Darryl “DG” Grant
- Nicki Micheaux as Gerty Kinsey
- Eric Balfour as Leonard Vance
- Paul Ben-Victor as Enzo
