12 Best TV Shows Like Snowfall

Summary

• Drugs and crime are widely depicted in American TV series, like Snowfall, offering a glimpse into complex social issues and institutional corruption.
• Shows such as The Shield and Animal Kingdom explore law enforcement’s role in perpetuating crime, challenging traditional narratives in the genre.
• Compelling characters like Franklin Saint in Snowfall and J Cody in Animal Kingdom navigate the thin line between innocence and corruption in crime-ridden worlds.

Following its series finale earlier in 2023, fans are looking for more shows like Snowfall to fill the gap. The crime series focused on the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and how to alter the culture of the time through the character of Franklin Saint (Damson Idris) who is gradually corrupted by the world he finds himself in. Through the complex protagonist and the crime story, fans can find shows like Snowfall that deliver more of what they love.

If two subjects have continued to exert a powerful hold on American TV, it’s drugs and crime. These two cultural and social phenomena have provided a great deal of fodder for the creative imagination, and this can be seen in the wide variety of series that have focused on one or the other (and sometimes both). Snowfall tells a compelling, intense, and powerful story using this approach and there are plenty of other shows that have found similar success by tackling these types of stories.

The Shield (2002-2008)

7 Seasons, 88 Episodes

One of the most interesting aspects of shows like Snowfall is how it depicts law enforcement as being a big part of the problem. While the cops fight the war on drugs and politicians rally against drugs on the street, those in power helped this epidemic start. The Shield is a show that does not shy away from the idea that the ones meant to uphold the law are the ones likely to break it. The gritty crime series features Vic Mackey, a corrupt Los Angeles cop based on the real-life Rampart scandal, doing anything to cover his tracks.

Stream on Hulu

Animal Kingdom (2016-2022)

6 Seasons, 75 Episodes

Franklin is introduced in Snowfall as a young man with potential, but circumstances seem destined to drag him down. Such is the case with J Cody in Animal Kingdom. He is a young man sent to live with his relatives in South Carolina, where he is brought into their crime world. There is a certain feeling of hopelessness for J and Franklin’s journeys as they are first reluctant participants in this world and have understandable motivations, but the pressure of proving themselves in this aggressive world further blackens their souls.

Stream on Prime Video

Godfather Of Harlem (2019-)

3 Seasons, 30 Episodes

One of Forrest Whitaker’s most prominent roles is in the series Godfather of Harlem, which focuses on the real-life figure of Bumpy Johnson, who attempts to regain control of his neighborhood after time spent in prison. As in shows like Snowfall, which addresses the way that drugs affect the entire culture of Los Angeles, this series explores how a changing culture forces a man like Johnson to make political alliances — including one with Malcolm X — that contribute to the increasing social upheaval of his neighborhood.

Stream on Prime Video

The Wire (2002 – 2008)

5 Seasons, 60 Episodes

The Wire is a searing look at the city of Baltimore and the various institutions that make the city work. It is a crime drama and yet The Wire is something more. Because it features actors who weren’t particularly well known when the series started, it has a powerful authenticity, and it allows viewers to understand the mechanisms that make a city function. It should appeal to fans of shows like Snowfall because it takes an expansive view of the ways the various institutions contend with social problems, including drugs.

Stream on Max

When They See Us (2019)

1 Season, 4 Episodes

Ava DuVernay is a director who is almost universally lauded in Hollywood, and she has shown time and again that she knows how to produce stories that are both great drama and powerful social commentary. When They See Us is rightly regarded as one of her greatest triumphs, focusing as it does on the Central Park Five, a group of Black youths who were wrongly accused of rape.

It’s a searing indictment of a criminal justice system that is very willing to persecute and imprison people of color. Just as Snowfall offers a searing (but at times oddly nostalgic look) at the 1980s and its particular milieu, so When They Se Us also shines an unflattering light on the way that the period was one in which rampant crime often led to the unfair victimization of the innocent.

Stream on Netflix

Breaking Bad (2008 – 2013)

5 Seasons, 62 Episodes

There are few series that are as highly regarded as Breaking Bad, which demonstrated just how powerful a figure the antihero has become in American popular culture. To this day, Walter White – the chemistry teacher who would go on to become a powerful drugmaker and drug lord – is one of the paradigmatic examples of this figure.

What makes the series work, however, is how skillfully it immerses the viewer in the sinister world that Walter comes to inhabit as he gives in to the darkness in his soul. This show should be especially appealing to fans of Snowfall in that it manages to do two things simultaneously, showing not only the dark yet compelling persona of Walter White, but also the perilous mechanics and systems that govern the illegal drug trade.

Stream on Netflix

Ozark (2017 – 2023)

4 Seasons, 44 Episodes

Though it hasn’t achieved quite the level of praise as Breaking Bad, Ozark, nevertheless, covers some similar territory. It focuses on the Byrdes, a couple who find themselves drawn into the dark, sinister, and dangerous world of drug dealing and money laundering. Both Jason Bateman and Laura Linney deliver powerful performances as the married couple, allowing the viewer to see them as complicated people doing the best that they can to survive.

This is even as they are forced to make terrible decisions and commit atrocious crimes. Just as shows like Snowfall reveal how easy it is to get slowly sucked into the sinister world of drugs — and those who sell them — so Ozark does something similar, by showing just how ruthless seemingly normal people can become when confronted with life and death consequences for their actions.

Stream on Netflix

Claws (2017 – 2022)

4 Seasons, 40 Episodes

Traditionally, it has been men who occupy the lion’s share of the attention in crime dramas. One exception to this rule is the series Claws, which focuses, as the title slyly suggests, on a group of manicurists who become involved in money laundering and gradually become ever more powerful.

The series has a lighter touch and more than a bit of comedy, and there’s no question that the presence of Niecy Nash and the show’s sleek production value allows it to become a standout in the genre. Given that it shows the extraordinary lengths to which people will go to obtain money and power — as well as the consequences that their actions sometimes have — this should be an especially good fit for those who enjoyed that aspect of shows like Snowfall.

Stream on Hulu

Narcos (2015 – 2017)

3 Seasons, 30 Episodes

As the title suggests, Narcos is very much about the world of drugs and organized crime. In this case, it focuses in particular on Pablo Escobar, famous for being one of the world’s most powerful and ruthless drug lords. It is driven by a forceful narrative that never lets the drama wane, but it has to be said that it doesn’t have many characters who are especially sympathetic.

However, it does feature some very powerful performances from such talented actors as Wagner Moura and Pedro Pascal. Part of what makes this series so endlessly compelling — and what should endear it to fans of shows like Snowfall — is the way that it shows the various aspects, and consequences, of the narcotics trade. What’s more, it also specifically focuses on cocaine, the same focus as the FX series.

Stream on Netflix

Weeds (2005 – 2012)

8 Seasons, 102 Episodes

Just as Claws allows women to occupy the center of a story about organized crime, Weeds does something similar. In this case, however, it focuses on a mother, played by Mary-Louise Parker, who turns to dealing marijuana to support her family.

While it has a similar story to Breaking Bad, it has a much lighter touch when it comes to the material, and it is as much a dark comedy as it is a drama. It deserves its reputation as one of Showtime’s best series. Parker’s Nancy Botwin might be an unlikely drug dealer, but the series — like Snowfall — demonstrates how easy it is to get slowly but steadily involved in darker and more sinister illegal activities the longer one remains in the business.

Stream on Hulu

American Crime (2015 – 2017)

3 Seasons, 29 Episodes

American Crime deserves to be seen as one of the best anthology dramas of the 2010s. In each season, it focused on a different set of characters and a different set of circumstances, but each time it managed to delve deep into the American psyche and society, exploring issues surrounding race, violence, and crime.

What’s more, it also featured a very powerful and talented cast, with Felicity Huffman, Timothy Hutton, and Regina King, all making repeat appearances. Despite its uneven storytelling, it still managed to be a timely social drama. Like Snowfall, it also takes a hard-hitting approach to its material, shining a very harsh light on some of the ugliest and most sinister aspects of the American psyche, and while the characters may be at times not sympathetic, they still make for compelling viewing.

Buy on Apple TV & Amazon Prime

Boardwalk Empire (2010 – 2014)

5 Seasons, 56 Episodes

Along with the drug lord, the gangster is one of the most enduring figures in American popular culture. In the case of Boardwalk Empire, the gangster in question is Nucky Thompson, who ran a criminal enterprise during the Prohibition Era.

Loosely based on a real historical figure, the character is one of Steve Buscemi’s best roles, bringing his signature brand of charisma to the part. What’s more, the series shines a powerful light on one of the most important periods in American criminal history. Both shows like Snowfall and Boardwalk Empire demonstrate the extent to which the figure of the crime lord, no matter what illegal activity they are engaged in, continues to exert a powerful pull, making for a riveting television drama.

Stream on Max