Gail Bean is ready for her close-up in ‘The Drop: A Snowfall Saga’

For years, Gail Bean has made a career out of making supporting characters memorable.

The Stone Mountain native has appeared among some of television’s most acclaimed Black-led casts, including FX’s “Atlanta,” HBO’s “Insecure” and Amazon Prime’s “Harlem.”

But it was her portrayal of Wanda Bell on FX’s “Snowfall” that made Bean a fan favorite. Over six seasons, viewers watched Wanda fall into crack addiction and eventually fight her way toward recovery alongside Leon Simmons (Isaiah John), her longtime love.

Now, after more than a decade in the business, Bean is moving to the top of the call sheet.

In “The Drop: A Snowfall Saga,” premiering Sept. 8 on FX, Bean reprises Wanda, this time as one of the central characters in a story set against the rise of West Coast rap in 1990s Los Angeles.

Wanda is trying to build a career in the music industry while Leon attempts to leave street life behind by running a free legal clinic.

Bean said she first heard whispers among the production team that a spinoff centered on Wanda was taking shape while she and John were in Ghana filming scenes for the final season of “Snowfall.” Before that season aired in 2023, they learned the spinoff had been greenlit for development.

Gail Bean as Wanda Bell (left) with Isaiah John as Leon Simmons. (Ray Mickshaw/Courtesy of FX)

For Bean, who first fell in love with acting as a student at Stephenson High School, becoming a television lead meant achieving something she had spent years working toward. It also meant confronting a responsibility she had never carried before.

Learning how to lead

Despite her years on television sets, she sought advice from actors who knew what it meant to lead a show.

Fellow Atlanta actor Danielle Deadwyler, whom Bean first met through a mutual friend and later worked with on “Atlanta,” gave her some of the most practical advice.

“Danielle told me, ‘You need a cleaner. You need someone to help you with meal prep, because you’re gonna end up not eating. And you need to eat,’” Bean recalled. “I thought I could do it all. You cannot. You need help.”

Bean’s new role also gave her a greater appreciation for Damson Idris, who led “Snowfall” for six seasons.

“I remember we were watching Season 6, Episodes 1 and 2 for our premiere for the last [season] of Snowfall, and I realized in that moment that being No. 1 is a 365-day job. I went up to Damson afterward, and I was like, ‘Oh wow, I get it now,’ she said. “You’re the No. 1, so you are the representation of the show.”

Building a legacy beyond ‘Snowfall’

To prepare for the new series, Bean said she conducted research on women music executives, watched documentaries and spoke with people who worked behind the scenes in LA’s music scene during the ‘90s. “A lot of people were really receptive when I was coming to them because they want [the show’s portrayals] to be right as well,” she said.

A longtime fan of hip-hop, Bean said she grew up on Atlanta’s Dungeon Family collective, but also on West Coast rappers Tupac and Too $hort.

For Bean, the goal isn’t just to extend Wanda’s story. She wants “The Drop” to establish an identity of its own beyond “Snowfall.”

“The beauty is that it’s its own standalone show, and it’s not ‘Snowfall,’” Bean said. “So they’ll both stand in their own right. I think “Snowfall” is a legacy that is sealed, and we’re a legacy that we’re trying to attain.”

While she was living in Atlanta a few years ago, she filmed Season 3 of P-Valley. The show follows a group of people who work at a strip club in a fictional city within the Mississippi Delta. The season wrapped filming in 2024.

And it’s been more than four years since Season 2 premiered. Still, Bean, who has a recurring role portraying a new dancer who brings chaos to the group, is confident the series will finally air.

“Listen, I can’t say much because they’ve been on me,” she said. “But, y’all gone find out some more information real soon.”

Fans who say they’ll have to rewatch the series because they’ve forgotten key details aren’t alone. Bean said she’s already forgotten what the plot for Season 3.

‘Home got my heart’

Bean currently lives in New York, but said she lived primarily in Atlanta for several years during and after the pandemic. Even now, she said she’s constantly home, visiting with family and dining at Rosie’s Cafe on Sylvan Road.

“I know being away allows me to be more productive, but home got my heart,” she said. “I can’t stay away.”

Bean’s connection to Atlanta also extends beyond acting. Through her nonprofit, Dream Above the Influence, she supports young people across metro Atlanta.