FX has ordered "Snowfall," a drama pilot from John Singleton about the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles.

The Oscar-nominated writer and director of "Boyz n the Hood," Singleton will helm the pilot, based on the script he co-wrote with Eric Amadio. Production is set to begin this summer.

Set in 1981 LA, at the beginning of the crack epidemic, "Snowfall" follows three characters: Franklin Saint, a young street entrepreneur on a quest for power; Gustavo Zapata, a Mexican wrestler turned gangster in search of his American dream; and Logan Miller, a prominent family's "black sheep" desperate to escape his father's shadow.

"I have always been fascinated with that volatile moment in time before crack changed everything," Singleton, who will also executive produce the drama, said in a statement. "It's a tense, insane and sexy era that touched every aspect of our culture. I couldn't have better partners for this journey."