Tonight FX kicks off the new drama Snowfall, which is set in South Central, L.A. in 1983 during the rise of crack cocaine epidemic. The series comes from creators John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood), Eric Amadio and Dave Andron (Justified), and follows three different storylines that will ultimately come crashing together by the end.

The first storyline follows Franklin Saint (Damson Idris), a seemingly straight-laced street-wise young man who makes money selling pot for his uncle. However, he wants something bigger, and soon finds himself a part of the more lucrative—and more dangerous—cocaine business. The second storyline follows Mexican wrestler Gustavo “El Oso” Zapata (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), who finds himself caught up in the middle of a power struggle within a crime family. And the final thread of the series follows CIA operative Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson), who gets involved in an off-book operation to fund the Nicaraguan Contras and Lucia Villanueva (Emily Rios, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series), the daughter of a Mexican crime lord.

Last month, for the opening night event of the ATX Television Festival, FX held a special screening of the pilot followed by a Q&A with the cast and creators of the series. The episode was extremely well-received by the audience. The production value is fantastic—you are instantly transported back to the 80s, but not in a cheesy way. The main actor who plays Franklin is amazing—I never would have even known he was British if not for that Q&A as his American accent is perfect, and he sounds like an average LA teenager of the period. The pilot sets up these three interesting (and sometimes intense) storylines. While it appears that these threads will not intersect for quite a while, the cutting back and forth between them doesn’t feel abrupt or disjointed. Though, I’m anxious to seeing how these do ultimately come together. I’ve seen the pilot twice now, and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. I really looking forward to watching the new episodes each week.

On tonight’s season premiere, “Pilot”, South Central street entrepreneur Franklin Saint enters the cocaine game; disgruntled CIA officer Teddy McDonald teams up with a Contra soldier; luchador Gustavo “El Oso” Zapata makes inroads with a Mexican cartel family.

Check out the season premiere tonight on FX at 10/9c.

I’ll also be watching/recording To Tell the Truth, Big Brother, The Carmichael Show, Broadchurch, Blood Drive, Younger, and Kingdom.