Set in Alphabet City — the once-gritty series of streets between 14th Street and Houston Street on Manhattan's East Side — the new drama is being developed for Showtime, according to the Hollywood Reporter. John Ridley will pen the script with Oscar nominee Lee set to direct the pilot. De Niro and Tribeca Productions produce. Ridley has reportedly set the ensemble drama in the 1980's, before the time Alphabet City became a destination neighborhood for hipsters, chic restaurants, boutiques, gay bars and luxury condos. The series will focus on the early wave of artists who moved into the predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood 30 years ago.