Season 1 of “The Drop: A Snowfall Saga” officially has wrapped. But for Gail Bean, Wanda Bell’s rise means more than a successful spinoff.
The spinoff follows the original series that made British actor Damson Idris a household name as Franklin Saint. Set in 1980s Los Angeles, the crime drama, co-created by John Singleton, followed the rise of the cocaine industry and ended after six seasons.
Bean never imagined her role would grow in this way until she became the star of her own series.
“The Drop: A Snowfall Saga” picks up where the original left off. It focuses more on Wanda’s rise in the music industry rather than the drug game.
The finale, titled “Hercules,” aired on Oct. 27, featuring a violent showdown that threatens Wanda and Leon’s relationship as Wanda fights to reclaim her music career.
Wanda evolved from a drug dealer to a drug user before hustling for an A&R position under a major label. That journey reflects how her character eventually earned her own spinoff.
In an exclusive interview with Atlanta Black Star, Bean opened up about her lead role, which she describes as John Singleton’s final gift to her.
Bean recalls once meeting Singleton in 2012 when he visited an Alliance on Acting class she attended in Atlanta. The class was taught by Lilenia Abner. Therefore, landing a role on his show years later was bittersweet.
She said the late filmmaker saw something special in her early on and promised he had something planned for her.
“John did tell me early, early on, season 2 [of Snowfall], when we were shooting the finale episode, which, ironically, my scene got cut in episode 10 of season 2,” Bean told ABS.
The St. Louis, Missouri, native said Idris “was kind enough” to tell her himself that producers were cutting her scene. He even complimented her “great work” as a co-star.
“John saw something in me so early on, and I don’t necessarily think it was a spinoff. I have no idea because he never shared with me,” Bean said. ‘He was just like, ‘I got something for you. We gonna do something.’ So I feel like this spinoff was like an ode to him [saying], ‘I told you I had something for you.”
Bean said she learned about a spinoff with Leon after filming episode 3 of season 6 in Ghana. But it wasn’t a secret to share with everyone at the time.
She paid respect to the home team, name-dropping several writers that stayed on from “Snowfall” to work on “The Drop.”
“They didn’t know my range or what I could do. They were just like, we see something in her, let’s see what she do with this,” Bean continued. “And they just kept expounding on the arc of Wanda Bell.”
The former “Insecure” star said she would have “never in a million years” thought her character, Wanda, would go this far.
She explained that “The Drop” reflects the 1990s, when society policed Black womanhood and held Black women to strict standards that prevented them from breaking the glass ceiling.
She believes Black women rarely get the opportunity to lead television series and anchor their own stories.
“Even in 2026, I never thought that they would ever make Wanda No. 1,” said Bean about the show’s success.
“When you look at black female leads on TV, like where they are the focus, and they are at the center, and we are telling stories and sub-stories, but they’re the glue. It don’t happen [much]. It’s far and few. Yes, we have ‘Scandal,’ yes, we had ‘How to Get Away with Murder.’ Yes, we have ‘Reasonable Doubt.’”
The “P-Valley” star argued that the industry still limits how far Black women can go, even when audiences embrace their characters.
“I think society has held Black women to a ball and chain of you can only go so far. Even in ‘The Drop,’ you see they’ll rock with Wanda, but only for so long, only for so much,” Bean said. [They] will only support this far, and if you’re right, I may want to steal your idea. And it’s still [like that] today in every industry.”
All episodes of FX’s “The Drop: A Snowfall” Saga are streaming now on Hulu.
