By the end of the first season of FX's *The Drop*, the record label bosses that Wanda (Gail Bean) and Lamar (Asante Blackk) were excited to work with earlier in the season have become dangerous.After Artillery (Simmie "Buddy" Sims III) and Dara's (Aleyse Shannon) close friend Keith (Hanad Abdi) is killed, the label bosses try to use his death for free publicity.They then rush out Artillery and Lamar's album, replacing the real artists with others and turning it into a mix of different songs.At the end of the season, Wanda, Lamar, and Artillery seem to take control of their own future.However, according to showrunner Malcolm Spellman, this is only the start of the series' main family dealing with a music industry that doesn't care about artists' well-being.
Spellman said that what the audience sees in the finale, especially in the last three episodes, will be typical throughout season two.
Though *The Drop* hasn’t been renewed yet and Spellman hasn’t heard from FX about future plans, he says he's not worried and feels confident based on positive audience reactions.
He also has plans for future seasons, including seasons two and three, with a bigger vision.
He wants to show how money and gangs gradually ruin everything from inside and outside.Record executives took a culture and decided it was easier to make money by promoting violence and gangs rather than conscious hip-hop, which destroyed a part of hip-hop over the next 30 years.Spellman wants to show this in a realistic way and how cynical the decisions were, and how unavoidable they were.
He also talks about how even though Wanda and Lamar end the season on their own, the labels still have all the power.
He explains what’s in store for Wanda and Leon (Isaiah John) and why the series is ultimately about family.
When asked where he wanted the story to be by the end of the first season, Spellman said he wanted to thoroughly introduce each character and bring them to various crisis points that reveal their best and worst sides.
By the end of season one, they are just entering the music business, and the audience should be well-acquainted with these characters.Once season two starts, the audience will see whether each character succumbs to their inner darkness or overcomes it.He wanted to end season one with them breaking through, but the real issue is what these characters are like inside when faced with the challenges of the music industry.He also wants to indoctrinate the audience to the era, explaining that the world back then was very different.People might get upset with the master storyline or the heist because they don't understand how primitive things were.For example, if you had an emergency, it could take three days to find someone you love to tell them.That’s because they weren’t home when you called.
He also explains why he made Wanda and Lamar betrayed by the label early on to show that the label executives weren’t really there to protect or help them.
I think this is just the start of that.
If I had 20 episodes, we would have gone even deeper, but that's going to be season two.Think about it like this: up to episode five, it's all about indoctrination.Then episodes six, seven, and eight feel very different.They’re more plot-driven because we’re dealing with a story about the record business.In real life, these people were taking out life insurance on rappers back then, and it was legal.They wouldn’t tell the family anything.And when the rappers died, they got a million dollars.What you see in those last three episodes is the label acting completely normally.In the '90s, artists were much less willing to follow the rules.They really saw themselves as artists.One of the things we’ll explore in season two, and what you're seeing in the setup with the label doing this, is that this is around 1991, when gangster rap started to take over and destroy conscious rap.That happened on purpose by the labels.It was easier for them to make money with negativity, and they went all in.A whole genre of rap died because of that.
We definitely notice the hints about the label trying to get attention by focusing on Keith's death and pushing out the album quickly.For Wanda and Lamar, it seems like they're ending the season on their own.Do you think they're becoming more independent, or are they still trying to work with the music industry?
Going independent wasn't really an option back then.
The label has all the power, and they'll be forced into uncomfortable situations with no other choice.Like what I was saying in the comments, there was no real rap industry yet.Rap wasn't on mainstream radio.That's what happened with Dr.Dre and The Chronic.Rap wasn't on the radio.What else can you do?This is all there is.
Lamar returns home and apologizes for how he reacted when he found out about his mom.
He was beaten up, but what makes him come back and ask for forgiveness from Mama G (Nicki Micheaux) and reconnect with his family?
That's kind of the main theme of the show.
The story of the mother is the story of Lamar, and he's holding onto that safe place.But in the next season, he'll be pulled away from it.In short, this show is about a family, a group of people who act like a family, including Artillery and all of them.The music business destroys families, and this family will try to survive throughout the show.What we saw was just a hint of what's coming.
What's Lamar's mental state at the end of the first season after spending so much time pushing away from the family?
I felt like Lamar went through a coming-of-age moment.
He's a sincerely religious boy who believes in those values and the family.We'll see more of that in season two.They're not just church kids; they really believe in those values.Remember when Pastor Rodney said something about the prodigal son?We had a scene where they talked about that.The prodigal son comes back after his journey, he's more mature, less selfish, though those traits still live inside him.After tasting the harsh reality of the music business, he realizes he needs his family, especially Wanda and James, to survive.So he's going back to what he knows and the culture that helped him grow.
We see Leon getting more involved in the music industry all season.
At the end, he joins a plan against DG (Brandon Mychal Smith) and kills Deon (Quincy Chad).He shuts down the legal clinic.Does that mean Leon is back in the game and more involved with Wanda's goals?
Leon had a special journey in season one, and for Isaiah, it was really important to get that character to a place where he could act like Leon did in Snowfall.
He had to go through a redemption arc and deal with his grief because of everything he went through in the original series.Once that was done, Big Daddy (Mykelti Williamson) set him free with the story he told.That was Big Daddy's way of saying older men understand that violence, murder, and death are part of the world.The story he told was the real story of how my wife's family came to California.People need to understand that the North Hollywood shootout won't happen again.But we lived in a time when men wore full body armor and fought cops.It was a different time in America.So, for Big Daddy, the lesson he helped Leon learn was that violence will always be needed.
If you're protecting my family, even things like killing that kid in Snowfall have to be understood because you're in that situation.
So when he picks up the gun, we know Leon is finally ready to get into the music business and start protecting his family.
You can tell he's not really comfortable with taking a more violent path.
Yeah, it's really hurting him.
Like that scene in episode five, that's real, man.He's looking at all the ghosts.And he's killed a lot of people.
And he was trying to find a way that was more about helping people and doing things the right way.
Being a good Black man from this environment in '91 was a big challenge.
Kids today complain about bad jobs and say we had it easier.But I explain what unemployment really means.For me, getting a job meant applying at every fast food restaurant in the city, and most of the time they'd just say there was no work.That's what seven and eight percent unemployment gets you, and sometimes it was even higher for Black people back then.So this is it.This is their journey.They don't have any other options.And for Leon to go on this journey, it's going to be very similar to the one he went through in the original Snowfall.
I'm sure you can't give too much away, but what would you say about what the future holds for Leon and Wanda as a couple?
There's clearly a deep connection and history between them.
In my opinion, they are the main part of the show, and whether they end up together or not should be a big question every season.Sometimes they find a way to work things out, and sometimes their relationship falls apart.What season one does is introduce real consequences, which makes you feel like Leon isn't going to be around anymore after that.We need that for the audience to believe that when season two starts, they have to fight to keep their love.Their story is based on my story and my wife's.Here's what the show is about: Leon and Wanda, will they or won't they every season, with close calls, arguments, and everything.By the end of the series, they get married.I think their story will ultimately be uplifting because it's based on my real life and my wife's, who went through all that stuff.
As the show has been released, you've also put out the songs from the series.
How has that helped with having the original music out there?
To me, this feels like a private party for Black people right now, and it's the most fun until the mainstream audience comes.
I'm not saying that will ruin it, but right now, with how the songs are being received and how the communities are responding, it's just been really amazing.I just visited San Quentin.Every prison in the country is locked in on our show, and those are our fans, people who came from that era and saw it.Those are the people that if we can convince, then we did the right thing.
All episodes of the first season of The Drop: A Snowfall Saga are now streaming on Hulu.
