Samuel L. Jackson Joins Kevin Hart in Peacock’s True Crime Series ‘FigҺt Night: The Million Dollar Heist’

Renowned actors Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Hart are set to collaborate on a new project, starring in Peacock’s upcoming true crime limited series titled ‘FigҺt Night: The Million Dollar Heist.’ The show, ordered by the platform in December, features Hart in the lead role and is based on the Packer-produced podcast, FigҺt Night, with Will Packer named as an executive producer.

 

The series, set in Atlanta during the 1970s, unfolds the infamous story of an armed robbery that occurred on the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback figҺt, altering not only one man’s life but the destiny of an entire city. According to Variety, Samuel L. Jackson will portray the notorious gangster Frank Moten, known as “the Black Godfather” in New York City tabloids.

The official podcast, comprising over 10 episodes and initially broadcast in 2020, provides a detailed overview of the storyline:

“On October 26, 1970, Muhammad Ali triumphantly returned to the world of boxing in Atlanta, Georgia. However, the next morning’s national front-page headlines featured the story of one of the biggest heists in history. At the center of it all is a hustler named ‘Chicken Man.’ Fans arrived in Rolls Royces from New York City, adorned in vibrant fur coats and dripping with diamonds. They grabbed engraved invitations and strutted into the arena.

The sold-out crowd stood and cheered when the first-round bell rang, minus two empty seats. After the figҺt, many, including top black mafia leaders, headed to Chicken Man’s house with an invitation in hand. Instead of wоmen and wine greeting them at the front door, each walked into the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun. On FIGҺT NIGHT, J.D. Hudson, one of the first black detectives in Atlanta’s desegregated police force, helped lead Muhammad Ali into the ring. The next day, he was assigned to the robbery by the chief of police. When asked by a journalist years later, ‘When did the investigation end?’ J.D. summed it up perfectly, ‘When everybody was deаd.'”

Shaye Ogbonna serves as the creator and showrunner alongside Jason Horwitch. The executive producers include Bryan Smiley and Mike Stein for Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, Will Packer and Sabrina Wind for Will Packer Media, Conal Byrne, Will Pearson, and Carrie Lieberman for iHeartPodcasts, along with Jeff Keating and Lars Jacobson, joining Hart and Packer in steering the project.