According to showrunner Dave Andron, they aimed to make the show's wardrobe authentic to the 1980s, but decided to avoid things that are too distracting to modern audiences, like giant shoulder pads.
Was to originally be a show for Showtime, but the network passed after a pilot was made. After a pilot reshoot, FX picked it up instead.
The character Franklin Saint, played by Damson Idris, was named after Franklin from the Peanuts gang (see Die Peanuts - Fröhliche Weihnachten (1965)), the only black character in the comic. His last name was added to be ironic.
As a tribute to the late John Singleton, one of the show's creators, a young male wearing a South Central Cinema cap is seen filming with a super 8 camera around the neighborhood in season 3 finale. Young John Singleton used to wear the same cap and film with a super 8.
The series is set in 1983 Los Angeles, just prior to the crack cocaine epidemic.