“Want to know how Atlanta was born?”
This, according to Taraji P. Henson , is the best way to sum up Peacock’s riveting new series, Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist . In case you’ve yet to binge the first six episodes, it chronicles the real-life robbery that took place in Atlanta on the night of Muhammad Ali’s comeback fight. But more importantly, it details how this incident paved the way for Atlanta to become the “Black Mecca.”
During our recent chat, Henson told me, “The history just blew me away because I had no idea about this heist. Didn’t know that ever happened.”
For context, this robbery was the biggest heist in Georgia’s history. Following the big fight, the wealthiest gangsters were invited to attend an afterparty hosted by a hustler named Chicken Man (Kevin Hart). However, the criminals were met with armed robbers and forced to give up their valuables, which turned out to be a huge cultural milestone for the city.
Created and executive produced by Shaye Ogbonna , the crime drama is filled with “blaxploitation themes,” complete with “afros and Farrah Fawcett flip hairstyles and groovy disco and R&B jams,” according to PureWow’s Associate Commerce Strategist and resident ’70s nerd , Jael Rucker . Not to mention the star-studded cast, from Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Hart to Terrence Howard and Don Cheadle. In fact, it was the acting talent that immediately sold Henson when she first heard about the project. She told me, “Kevin was like, ‘I got something for you, Taraji.’ And I was like, ‘What?’ And he said, ‘Me, you and [Samuel L. Jackson].’ And I said, ‘I’m in.'”