Samuel L. Jackson Joins Peacock's 'Fight Night,' a Limited Series on Muhammad Ali

Samuel L. Jackson attends a special screening of Marvel Studios' upcoming "Secret Invasion" at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on June 13, 2023.

Photo Credit: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

By: Joshua Martin

Widely renowned as one of the greatest actors of his generation, Samuel L. Jackson is teaming up with comedy legend Kevin Hart to continue his rise in television with Peacock’s new true crime series Fright Night: The Million Dollar Heist. Sources say the show was green-lit in December with Hart tabbed as the lead. 

Sources say Jackson will star as the notorious gangster Frank Moten, who at the time was described as the “Black Godfather” by New York newspapers. 

Film Director Will Packer is set to executive produce alongside Hart, with the series being based off of Packer’s self-produced podcast Fight Night.

Will Packer poses at the 2023 Oscars.

Photo Credit: David Livingston/Getty Images

The limited series is based in Atlanta during the 1970s. According to the show's official description, it will tell “the infamous story of how an armed robbery during the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight changed not only one man’s life but an entire city’s destiny.” 

The official podcast launched in 2020 and consists of 10 episodes.

Below is a detailed description of the storyline from one of its episodes.

"On October 26, 1970, Muhhammad Ali triumphantly returned to the world of boxing in Atlanta, Georgia. But every national front-page headline the next morning featured the story of one of the biggest heists in history. At the center of it all – a hustler named ‘Chicken Man.’ Fans arrived in Rolls Royces delivered from New York City. Adorned in vibrant fur coats and dripping with diamonds, they grabbed engraved invitations then strutted into the arena. The sold-out crowd stood and cheered when the first-round bell rang, minus two empty seats. After the fight, many celebrating the victory, including top black mafia leaders, headed to Chicken Man’s house with invitation in hand. Instead of women and wine greeting them at the front door, each walked into the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun. On FIGHT NIGHT, J.D. Hudson, one of the first black detectives in Atlanta’s desegregated police force helped lead Muhammed 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 dead."

Writer Shaye Ogbonna will serve as creator and showrunner, with contributions from Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat and Packer’s Will Packer Media. The show’s premiere date will be announced at a later date.

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