Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist is an American crime drama television miniseries created by Shaye Ogbonna, based on the 2020 podcast of the same name fictionalizing an actual armed robbery, at an Atlanta party, on the night of Muhammad Ali's October 1970 comeback fight, after being stripped of his boxing license in 1967 for being a conscientious objector to fighting in the Vietnam War.
The limited series premiered on September 5, 2024, on Peacock with the first three episodes. It concluded with its eighth episode on October 10, 2024.
Premise The infamous story of how an armed robbery on the night of Muhammad Ali's historic 1970 comeback fight transformed Atlanta into the "Black Mecca."
Cast Main Kevin Hart as Gordon 'Chicken Man' Williams Taraji P. Henson as Vivian 'Sweets' Thomas Don Cheadle as Detective J.D. Hudson Samuel L. Jackson as Frank 'Black Godfather' Moten
Special guest star Terrence Howard as Richard 'Cadillac Richie' Wheeler
Guest Dexter Darden as Muhammad Ali Michael James Shaw as Lamar Atkins Estimond as Raymond 'Silky Brown' Armstrong Sam Adegoke as Emerson Dorsey Sinqua Walls as McKinley 'Mac' Rogers Myles Bullock as Willie Black Artrece Johnson as Faye Williams Lori Harvey as Lola Falana Marsha Stephanie Blake as Delores Hudson Jayson Warner Smith as Police Chief Herbert Turner Jenkins RonReaco Lee as Senator Leroy Johnson Teresa Celeste as Maxine Chloe Bailey as Lena Mosley Melvin Gregg as Andre Muse Jalyn Hall as Baby Ray Justen Ross as Tommy Hayes Terrence Terrell as Boone Davis Ben Vandermey as Detective Mason Jeff Sprauve as Romel Alan Heckner as Colt Parker Sack as Paul Gleason Clifton Powell as Mushmouth Rowe David Banner as Missouri Slim Exie Booker as Derrick 'Tex' Patterson Dammon Earl Hughes as Bunker Willis Celestino Cornielle as Javier 'Javi' Lopez Rockmond Dunbar as Uncle Willie Rayan Lawrence as Melvin
Episodes
Production It was announced in December 2023 that Kevin Hart was set to star in and executive produce the series, which Peacock had greenlit in a straight to series order. Samuel L. Jackson, Terrence Howard, Dexter Darden and Taraji P. Henson were added to the cast in January 2024, while Craig Brewer was hired to direct the first and last two episodes. Myles Bullock, Don Cheadle, Chloe Bailey, Melvin Gregg, Artrece Johnson, Jalyn Hall, Clifton Powell, Lori Harvey and Marsha Stephanie Blake were added to the cast in February 2024. In March, Rockmond Dunbar joined the cast.
Filming began on February 12, 2024, in Atlanta.
The series reunites Taraji P. Henson with Kevin Hart after co-starring with him in Think Like a Man, Think Like a Man Too, and Top Five, and is Henson's third collaboration with Terrence Howard, whom she had previously collaborated with in Hustle & Flow and the series Empire. The series also reunites Howard and Cheadle, who co-starred in the 2005 film Crash.
Reception Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
References
External links
Fight Night podcast