Wednesday on TV: 'Snowfall' might be good, but after watching 5 episodes I'm still not sure

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

"Snowfall" (11 p.m., FX) is an extremely complicated show with a very simple premise — that the crack epidemic turned South Central Los Angeles into a war zone almost overnight. And that it was fostered by the CIA.

John Singleton co-created and produced this drama, set in 1983, about the crack epidemic. It's told with multiple storylines populated by myriad characters, and it's sort of slow going.

I've seen five episodes, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of "Snowfall." The one thing I can tell you for certain is that if you watch, you're going to have to be patient.

Elsewhere on TV ...

• "Big Brother" (7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): House guests vie for the power of veto.

• "Big Pacific" (7 p.m., PBS/Ch. 7): For creatures of all sizes, the challenge of finding food drives life.

• NBA summer league (7 p.m., Ch. 14 and NBATV): Utah Jazz vs. Philadelphia 76ers

• "Jay Leno's Garage" (7 and 8 p.m., CNBC): Jay competes against Tim Allen in a drifting race and participates in his first demolition derby.

• "Lip Sync Battle" (7:30 p.m., Spike): Taye Diggs vs. Ne-Yo

• "Great Yellowstone Thaw" (8 p.m., PBS/Ch. 7): It's summer in Yellowstone, and with soaring temperatures and drought comes an increased risk of wildfires.

• "The Carmichael Show" (8 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5): A decades-old family secret is revealed.

• "Queen Sugar" (8 p.m., OWN): Charley searches for a home for Micah; a whitefly infestation threatens the farm.

• "To Tell the Truth" (9 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Celebrity panelists include Jalen Rose, Sherri Shepherd, Chris Kattan and Kelly Osbourne.

• "Broadchurch" (11 p.m., BBC America): Hardy and Ellie start to uncover inconsistencies and lies - and previously hidden connections between Trish and some suspects.

• "Blood Drive" (11 p.m., Syfy): Arthur and Grace take a dangerous detour to a mental asylum to search for Grace's missing sister.

• "Younger" (11 p.m., TV Land): Kelsey is infuriated by Liza's lack of millennial know-how.

• "Cleverman" (11 p.m., Sundance): Waruu takes a position in government; Koen vows to do whatever he can to help the Hairy people.