Fox Broadcasting Co. has officially ordered an event series from Love & Basketball filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood and Empire executive producer Brian Grazer for a 2016 premiere. The project, which has had a blinking green lights since Love & Basketball star Sanaa Lathan was cast as the lead in October. Titled Shots Fired, the event series examines the dangerous aftermath of racially charged shootings in a small town in Tennessee. According to an earlier description of the series, a shooting involves an African-American cop killing a white teen in Tennessee.

Lathan plays an expert investigator who digs into the cases, alongside a special prosecutor sent to the town by the Department of Justice. The pair must navigate the media attention, public debate and the social unrest that comes with such volatile cases, as they seek justice before the divided town erupts.

The project (fka Indictment) had been in development at Fox for a while. A pilot script was completed, which the network followed up by ordering a bible with the intention of picking up the project straight to series once the bible was delivered.

Shots Fired, from 20th Century Fox TV and studio-based Imagine Television, is written and executive produced by Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Rock Bythewood, with Prince-Bythewood set to direct. Imagine's Grazer and Francie Calfo also will serve as executive producers.

Police shootings have been a raw topic, with several recent cases of white cops killing unarmed black men triggering unrest and nationwide campaigns against racial profiling and excessive police force.

"Gina and Reggie have crafted a profoundly moving portrayal of a timely and sensitive issue that pervades our culture at this very moment," said David Madden, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. "This is not only an important story to tell, but also an explosive mystery-thriller, and we couldn't be in better hands both with the creative team behind this, along with the very talented Sanaa Lathan leading the cast."