LIGHT SPOT HO L LY W OOD

February 22 is the premiere date for the sixth and final season of “Snowfall”, the series created by the late John Singleton and inspired by the past life of convicted drug trafficker Rick Ross. “Snowfall” chronoffthe-books CIA operation contributed to the destruction rock cocaine leveled on the community of South Central Los Angeles and in season six dramatizes the very human toll the crack epidemic has taken.

Damson Idris stars as Franklin Saint, an ambitious street entrepreneur who seizes an opportunity to grow rich in the drug game and ends up in a world of danger.

The action picks up as a desperate Franklin is forced to rob his Aunt Louie (Angela Lewis) and Uncle Je-

Out This Month

Angela Bassett Makes History with Oscar Nod

With her best supporting actress Oscar nomination for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, Angela Bassett made history as the first woman, the first person of color and the first Marvel Studios actor to be nominated for an Academy Award for their performance in a comic book adaptation. It’s the second nomination for the actress.

“This morning is a little extra special in the Bassett Vance household with news of my Oscar nomination,” Bassett posted. “What has drawn me to each of the women I’ve por trayed throughout my career is their strength, compassion, re silience, and power. Wa kanda Forever’s Queen Ramonda is a character that touched my spirit because she is a mother and a leader who must care for her grieving nation as much as she cares for her family in mourning.

Ramonda is a love letter that reflects and acknowledges what we women do everyday.” rome (Amin Joseph) after being wiped out by former CIA officer Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson). Franklin is now faced with losing everyone he loves and everything he’s built. Coming through it all will mean out-maneuvering the KGB, DEA, and CIA, as well as avoiding the LAPD’s fully militarized/corrupt C.R.A.S.H. units.

In the final season, Idris says that his character is beginning to realize that he is actually a monster and a victim himself.

Idris–who is a producer on the show–promises that the season will be a heartstopper for viewers.

“What I can say is you’re going to be at the edge of your seats,” he reports. “It gets to a point where Franklin Saint becomes James Bond, and you’re like ‘Oh, he’s gonna survive this.’ And we don’t want that to happen. So, with this season…you are never going to know who’s going to survive and who’s going to die.”

Rounding out the cast are Lewis, Joseph, Hudson, Michael Hyatt, Sergio Peris-Mencheta and Isaiah John.

The 10-episode final season airs Wednesday nights on FX beginning on Febuary 22.

Footnotes

ShemarMoore

Hometown: Oakland

Age: 52

Breakout Role: “The Young & Restless”

Current Project: “S.W.A.T.”

Shemar Moore once said he could describe his career in two words: who knew. He was, in fact, on his way to becoming a professional baseball player when he was sidelined by an injury and opted to move to L.A. to try acting. “Nobody”, he says, was betting on him. He did some modeling to pay the bills and in 1994 landed a role on “The Young & The Restless”, that would win him a daytime Emmy and and in 2005, he was cast for 11 seasons on CBS’ hit series, "Criminal Minds." A year later, he landed the lead in S.W.A.T., now in its sixth season. On playing a cop:

It’s difficult, and sometimes seemingly impossible, but if you quit, then nothing changes. If you don’t quit, then change is possible.

On his S.W.A.T. character:

Snubbed

One of the biggest snubs of the recent Oscar nominations was the absence of a nomination for Viola Davis who did receive nods for Golden Globe, SAG, NAACP Image Awards for her starring role in Woman King. But there’s still plenty for Davis to be excited about not the least of which is the two-year, exclusive first-look television and new media deal Davis and her husband’s production company, JuVee Productions, signed with eOne.

“We are excited to partner with eOne in continuing to bring both entertaining and important stories to audiences globally,” Davis and Tennon said.

“This is our legacy — to create deeply and authentically while opening the door wider for the next generation. Our collaboration is one of a shared, bold vision. From the moment we met Michael Lombardo, we felt that kinetic energy of being

In Casting News: An all-star cast has been announced for Tyler Perry’s new Netflix project, Six Triple Eight. Oprah Winfrey and Kerry Washington are set to join the cast of the upcoming epic film which also stars Ebony Obsidian, Sam Waterston and Susan Sarandon. Six Triple Eight tells the inspiring true story of the only all-Black, allfemale battalion during World War II. Perry wrote the original screenplay based on an article written by historian Kevin

M. Hymel that details the experience of a group of women who joined the war effort and were assigned the incredible task of fixing the three-year backlog of undelivered mail – all while facing discrimination, unfamiliar surroundings, and living in a wartorn country…In other casting news, Beverly Hills housewife/The Real cohost Garcelle Beauvais has signed on to star in the Lifetime original film, Black Girl Missing as part of the network’s Stop Violence Against Women campaign. The TV film tells the story of a mother whose daughter goes missing and enlists the help of a dedicated community of amateur internet sleuths to find her...Fresh off of her Supporting actress Critics Choice Award win, Niecy Nash has been tapped to join the cast of Ava DuVernay’s adaption of Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. The film–examining racism in America–also features Aunjanue Ellis and Jasmine Cephas jones…And the voice cast for Nickelodeon’s upcoming “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” now includes Serena Williams and North West, who will join her mother, Kim Kardashian in the film along with Lil Rel Howery, Taraji P. Henson and Marsai Martin. Briefly: Sheryl Lee Ralph is sitting on top of the world with a hit series, a recent Emmy Award and a last month’s best supporting actress win at the Golden Globes. And just recently it was announced that she was asked to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as part of the Super Bowl pregame ceremony on February 12.

Hondo’s full Black in the story, where I’m half Black and half white. There are a lot of parallels and differences. Shemar has a lot more fun than Hondo does; Hondo’s a serious cat. His backstory includes going into the military, being a Marine and the pressures of being a leader and being a Black man in that position. I’d like to think that my success and the way I carry myself, I want people of color, –young people period to believe it’s possible, that you can go out there and be somebody and be successful. Not necessarily be a star, but just that success is possible.

On Black Lives Matter:

We talked about Black Lives Matter [on the show] because it was the right thing to do. I’m a Black man wearing a SWAT uniform. When George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the like happened, I told the producers, “We can’t ignore that.” Do we have to preach to that? No, but we can address that.

On acting:

There's something fascinating about being able to put on costumes and become something else. By acting, you get full permission to act in a way that you may not act in your everyday life.

On success:

I've experienced a lot of successes, a lot of triumphs, but also dealt with a lot of adversity, a lot of loss. You just wake up every day and realize you're blessed. I never take life for granted. I never take my career for granted. I just try to embellish, and smile about the good, but also always push myself. Don't ever get comfortable. You can do it. I always feel like I can be better.

On how he continues to look so young: I'm never shy about how old I am, how young I am. I got good genes from my mom and my daddy. I eat healthy and exercise is a way of life for me. I'm trying to keep my six-pack alive. Right now, it's kind of like a two-and-a-half pack. I gotta get together. It ain't as easy as it used to be. I just try to see the brighter side of life.