[MUSIC PLAYING]
Welcome to the world premiere of the FX original series,
"Snowfall."
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Not too long ago, you were happy with just
a few hundred dollars.
How we grow, huh?
Like weeds.
TAVA SMILEY: Season two follows the ensemble of characters
who intersect during the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic.
There ain't enough smokers in LA for all this.
All y'all got to do is cook it up and break it down.
I'll figure out how to move it.
We asked how the series explores the impact of crack
on our culture.
This season, crack is in full effect.
We start in 1984 now, so we've moved about six months.
Franklin's in full effect with his crew.
There's a lot of success from the selling of this drug,
and that's bringing a lot of inner and outer conflict.
All you have to decide is just how big you want your business
to become, and how much control you are willing to cede
to get it there.
The story just kind of expands and gets much bigger.
And we start to see all the connective tissue
between all of these worlds.
They're all coming together for this common purpose of selling
drugs and making money in a way that they can't understand
the long-term consequences.
Business is only as good as the people you work with.
You mean you work with people who tase, interrogate,
and drug you?
And people who have you followed.
This season's really about these story lines kind
of converging, and seeing Franklin's world
and seeing the CIA in east LA and how
it's all kind of interconnected and intertwined.
We see how each and every single individual world
affects the other.
These characters that we set up very well
in the first season start to intermingle and meet
and deal with each other.
And it just gets dicey.
So you're going to go and kill the first Mexican you see?
That's what you do, man.
Ain't your daddy a Panther?
The first season, we were just seeing how
they're going about doing it.
This season, it's worked, so we get to see some of the at least
immediate effects.
You start to see things unravel.
It's kind of watching this evolution that is going
to eventually, it more than likely is
going to tear families apart.
The better we do, the more attention we get, more people
who want to take what we got.
I brought us out here today to help deal with that attention.
We know the effects it has on the community in the streets,
but you're going to see that plus the dramas
of the family working together.
So it's really a lot of family dynamic.
Who's loyal, who's not, who's out for themselves.
You're going to be torn as a viewer
because, you know, you love these characters,
but here they are fighting, so what
side are you going to choose?
We about the move into the big leagues.
Guess that mean I'm going to be cooking a lot more, huh?
It means we all got to step up.
We're back at the world premiere of the FX
original series, "Snowfall."
[MUSIC PLAYING]
You already lost two people and now you put three more
in jeopardy.
And you know what?
I don't even know why it even happened.
Can you talk to us about how the subject
matter of "Snowfall" is still resonant today?
You know, people don't really realize how much of an impact
the crack cocaine epidemic had on particularly
the African-American community.
And it definitely correlates with the opioid crisis
which we're seeing today.
The contrast in the way that that's being talked about
and the way that this epidemic was being talked about
is really important to analyze and to examine.
And this shines a light on that moment and says,
this really doesn't look so different from rural Virginia
today.
You know how I feel about all of this.
You're welcome home when you stop.
In "Snowfall," we're talking about crack cocaine,
but it's relevant to any of our communities.
We filmed primarily on location.
We were in the neighborhoods that crack cocaine affected
then, continues to affect now, and you kind of
see the real experience.
PEACHES: Nothing to worry about.
FRANKLIN SAINT: I look worried?
You always look worried.
It was a typhoon of a situation which
you can't do nothing about.
It almost hit like a volcano where
you don't know what's hitting.
And then it's there, and it's like,
what do you do about it now?
When the society can tell a story in hindsight,
it means that it's healing.
I think it's a time to look back and not only be
nostalgic about the great times, but also
see the things that we can fix.
And it can help our communities and help our young folks.
Some of those harsh laws that were given to crack cocaine.
It's not the same with opioids, so hopefully we can
move forward in that regard.
How are you going to move 10 keys in a week?
Put that away, and I'll tell you.
For FXM, I'm Tava Smiley.
See you next time.
[MUSIC PLAYING]