Snowfall, John Singleton’s 1980s cocaine-epidemic drama pilot, got a boost in its pickup chances on December 21 when the California Film Commission approved its application for tax incentives should it go to series, Deadline said.

Deadline hears FX brass only received the pilot last week and are not close to making a decision. But observers point to the network’s track record of the vast majority of its pilots going to series. And the tax breaks application alone underscores FX’s high hopes for the project.

Co-created and co-written by the Boyz N The Hood director Singleton and Eric Amadio and directed by Singleton, Snowfall is set against the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles in the 1980s. With the drug storm about to come, Snowfall focuses on a trio of main characters – ambitious dealer Franklin Saint (Damson Idris), Mexican wrestler-turned-gangster Gustavo Zapata (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and prodigal son Logan Miller (Billy Magnussen).

Dave Andron serves as an EP along with Singleton, Groundswell Productions’ Michael London, Amadio and Trevor Engelson. FX Prods. is the studio.