Before F1, Damson Idris Starred In This Underrated Crime Thriller Series On Hulu

Crime dramas might be the most popular genre in all of entertainment right now, especially if you include "true crime" in that distinction, and Americans really love their stories about bad guys almost getting away with it. All of the most popular streamers have sunk unbelievable money into these projects, either by adapting true stories or hiring talented screenwriters to weave tales of harrowing complexity and tabloid scandal alike. While people have been getting their thrills seeing Damson Idris in "F1" lately, his biggest star-making turn so far has been on a critically acclaimed TV crime drama with "Snowfall." Although this show has concluded, fans who missed out the first time might want to uncover what was going on with the Hulu favorite if they're looking for a new crime obsession.

"Snowfall" tells the story of the crack epidemic's rise in Los Angeles, California, through the eyes of Franklin Saint, a lowly hustler who becomes a drug kingpin by the end of the series. Idris is more than just the face of Franklin Saint in "Snowfall," he also helped produce the series, along with crime drama royalty in John Singleton, so you know the bonafides are there. Singleton paired up with Eric Amadio and Dave Andron to author a crowd-pleasing story of classic American greed and excess over on FX, which audiences flocked to en-masse as the run continued on the terrestrial network.

There's no question that "Snowfall" was helped by bold performances from Idris, Carter Hudson, Emily Rios, and Isaiah John, with the relative increase in popularity within the crime drama genre across the board steadily pouring gasoline on the fire. It's tempting to give total credit to the larger streaming forces at play here, but don't be fooled, because "Snowfall" might be in the rarified air of something like "Breaking Bad" or "Narcos" when it comes to watching bad dudes doing evil on the small screen. A main character's performance is often how these shows live and die, and "Snowfall" definitely benefits from Idris being at the top of his game.

Damson Idris makes you both feel for Franklin Saint and despise him in the same breath throughout six seasons. Part of it is the fact that our lead actor has the kind of handsome face that you would normally want to root for, and part of it is how those expectations are played against the audience over "Snowfall's" entire run. In the beginning, Franklin Saint is just a low-level marijuana dealer trying to secure some extra funds, but over time, the allure of cocaine dealing gets its hooks into him, and we're off to the races. It's a compelling hook to keep viewers on edge and guessing about what will happen to Franklin and his crew every season.

FX largely agreed as they kept "Snowfall" around from 2017-2023 — that's 60 episodes for those counting at home — and that's no small feat in our current era of broadcast TV. As streaming became an even bigger part of the entertainment landscape, the availability of the show only supercharged the viewership, and because it began life so early in that game, it was able to ride out the storm of broadcast relatively unscathed. Damson Idris was well-liked already for his acting pedigree, and let's be honest, that smile; however, "Snowfall" sent things into another stratosphere for him.

Idris would go on to tell GQ that Franklin Saint is a role he'd never forget, and that the level of intensity ended up giving him nightmares. "And it's such an interesting note to give someone, right? Because it wasn't me by that point," Idris clarified. "I was so immersed as Franklin, I was having nightmares when I'd go home. The character really did affect me," the star admitted. "And that was the first time where I just accepted it, I accepted that this guy wasn't the sweet kid that likes wrestling anymore."

Franklin Saint's time might be over in new episodes, but the ripples of "Snowfall" are still being felt, as "F1" likely doesn't happen without his star-making turn as the South Central gangster. Idris is definitely grateful for the opportunity, and the FX classic will likely end-up on some "Best of the Decade" lists when the 2020's mercifully conclude. Prestige TV is positively littered with antiheroes at the moment, with so many popular shows focusing on the biggest jerks imaginable, and Franklin definitely fits the bill in that regard. The big difference with the way Idris plays the gangster is that you get to see the complete arc from a much younger age, and that makes it all the sadder to see him morph into an unquestionable monster.

Six seasons can be hard to come by on broadcast television at the moment, with many shows having trouble just making it to season 3, and with the "belt-tightening" around the industry, that's not likely to improve soon. If the era of streaming has taught us anything, it's that quality shows and movies have a longer shelf life on these platforms than they might have had on reruns in traditional broadcast spaces. "Snowfall" is going to end up being a canon addition for a lot of "urban crime drama" fans down the line, and by streaming it now, you'll be getting ahead of the curve when people start treating this series like "The Wire" in a few years. Crime across the board might be down in the United States, but the TV landscape sure doesn't care about that at all.