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Snowfall is an American crime drama television series created by John Singleton, Eric Amadio, and Dave Andron. It premiered on July 5, 2017, and concluded on April 19, 2023, spanning 60 episodes across six seasons on FX. The show is widely regarded as a powerful depiction of how crack cocaine spread through Los Angeles in the 1980s.
The series is authentic-feeling and its performances are forceful. The characters are complex and deep. Some people compare it to Breaking Bad and The Wire. Some critics feel that the later seasons become sluggish and unevenly written. Still, Snowfall remains a compelling story that leaves a lasting mark. The article will give you a glimpse of 7 similar TV shows like Snowfall that capture the same power, chaos & grit of the drug world.
Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's opinion. Readers’ discretion is advised.
The list of 7 shows like Snowfall that capture the grit, power, and chaos of the drug world is given below:
7. Mayor of Kingdom (2021)
Mayor of Kingstown is a criminal thriller on television that looks at power, criminality, and survival in a tough American city. The narrative is constructed in Kingstown, Michigan, where the largest industry is the prison system. The McLusky family is negotiators within gangs, prisons, and police forces. The show is built on Mike McLusky as he attempts to make sense of it all and clean up the community. The city of Kingstown is permeated with violence, racism, and corruption, so the environment is filled with tension and unexpectedness.
The series doesn't just describe street criminality. It looks at more ways in which people with power strive to maintain control. This theme is closely related to Snowfall because, rather than pursuing street criminals, it focuses on those who work to preserve the system. Both the shows represent damage that can be perpetrated within a population from drugs, criminality, and ruined systems.
6. Top Boy (2011)
Top Boy brings you into the inner city world of young men involved in the drugs trade in London. The series puts forth Dushane & his peers as they battle to survive & to control that which is theirs. The show portrays the savage reality of poverty, violence, & police pressure. Top Boy, like Snowfall, explores the unstable lives of the drug trade and its repercussions on entire towns. Both the series highlight the effects that drugs have on lives, relationships, and family ties. The viewers began binging on the show when it came out. One viewer posted on IMDb,
"I can't honestly remember when I last watched a series back to back all in one sitting."
The episodes are plausible and persuasive because of where the action is set – locations where hope is a luxury. The plot lines are sharp, and characters are often forced to make hard decisions. Top Boy is capable of depicting both the problem of making money and the challenge of retaining individual motivation and loyalty in a difficult society.
5. Narcos (2015)
Narcos is a series about the real-life rise and fall of the drug cartels in Colombia. The show follows Pablo Escobar, a man who becomes one of the most powerful and feared drug lords in history. It looks at the struggle between the cartels and the American DEA agents sent to stop them. The theme song “Tuyo” by Rodrigo Amarante became a viral song and people are using it madly in their callertune and ringtones. Pablo’s entrance in the show as the King of drug cartels captivated the audience. Around the 13-minute mark of the pilot episode, Pablo’s jeep and truck are stopped by the Colombian police. His heated interaction with the Colombian police is just awesome! At the end of his conversation, Pablo’s dialogue,
“Gentleman, I’m going to tell you who I am. I am Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria. My eyes are everywhere. That means you guys can’t move a finger in all of Antioquia without me knowing about it. Do you understand? Not a finger.”
Similar to Snowfall, Narcos revealed to us the significant effect that drugs leave on society as well as on people stuck in the middle. Both the series are fast-paced and keep you on your toes with never-ending action and plot twists. Snowfall depicts the beginning of the crack epidemic that swept through Los Angeles while Narcos depicts cocaine sweeping through the globe from Colombia. The corruption, chaos, and shattered families depicted in both shows make Narcos a perfect recommendation for Snowfall fans.
4. Queen of the South (2016)
Queen of the South is the story of Teresa Mendoza, a lady who flees Mexico and becomes a powerful figure in the American drug business. It is a dangerous, treacherous, and ambitious voyage of Teresa. She gets to know how to live through her intelligence and courage. The show brings out the opportunities created by the drugs, but at the same time, violence and heartbreak are present. Teresa starts with nothing but gradually builds her own empire, constantly facing new enemies.
Queen of the South shares many similarities with Snowfall in that both the TV series feature protagonists who come from humble beginnings and are leaders. Teresa attempts to become a drug mule in the episode Cuarenta Minutos, so that she can escape prostitution when Camila Vargas asks her to do that. This is one of the milestones in her rise as it reveals her smartness and strong desire to live and fight taking her destiny in a new and dangerous world. The show talks about the price of winning in the crime-controlled world.
3. Power (2014)
Power follows James Ghost St Patrick's life as a nightclub owner who becomes entangled in a drug business while seeking to live a clean life. The series blends crime, passion, and betrayal in a greedy and ambitious world. It is compared to Snowfall as both shows deal with power and drugs ruining people and relationships. Many people believe that Snowfall's writing and performances are stronger. They compare it to shows such as Ozark and Breaking Bad.
Power is sometimes perceived as being more soap operatic on the other hand. It is more driven by constant drama and large plot turns. Power reveals Ghost's fight with keeping a life of double identities as his empire rises and falls. Snowfall is more down to earth while Power is more dramatic with large plot turns. Both the TV series appeal to viewers who like watching powerful yet damaged people attempt to dominate a money-ruled world of survival.
2. The Wire (2002-2008)
The Wire is routinely discussed as one of the best TV dramas of all time. It's set in Baltimore and depicts how drugs, politics, schools, and media are connected in a failed system. It follows both police and street people so it is rich and nuanced. Snowfall is more concerned with individual ambition and rise of a single dealer, Franklin Saint.
Both deal with power, corruption, and weakness of humans. The Wire is bleak and institutional while Snowfall is emotional and character-centric. Both are linked with realism and intense examination of drugs as a force that creates whole communities. Both are praised for their writing and social realism, showing how the so-called “war on drugs” is, in reality, a war on people. The Wire creates a complete image of inner-city life as much as Snowfall creates one for Los Angeles.
1. Breaking Bad (2008)
Breaking Bad tells the story of Walter White, a chemistry teacher who becomes a drug maker after learning he has cancer. His journey from a desperate father to a ruthless criminal is gripping and dark. Like Franklin Saint in Snowfall, Walter’s choices destroy everything he loves while feeding his ego and greed. Both men start out seeking control in a world that ignores them and end up consumed by it.
Breaking Bad is known for sharp writing and tension while Snowfall brings a similar emotional edge to the streets of Los Angeles. The two shows are mirrors of ambition and failure in different eras. Breaking Bad explores the cost of pride while Snowfall focuses on how power and drugs reshape a whole generation. Both are about transformation and the dangerous price of success.
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