Actor Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Captain Marvel) will be starring in an all-new true crime limited series for Peacock entitled Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, an adaptation from the podcast Fight Night by producer Will Packer (Trois, Girls Trip), according to Variety. The show was ordered last month, with Kevin Hart (Ride Along, Central Intelligence) also expected to star and executive produce the series alongside Packer, Doghouse Pictures and iHeartPodcasts.
Set in 1970s Atlanta, the series is expected to follow “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 original description reads via Variety. Known as “The Black Godfather” by the New York tabloids, Jackson will portray an infamous gangster named Frank Moten.
According to Variety, Shaye Ogbonna (Lowlife, The Chi) created the series and will have Jason Horwitch (Luke Cage, The Pentagon Papers) on board as showrunner. Both Horwitch and Ogbonna will executive producer with Hart, Mike Stein (Boogie Nights, La La Land), and Bryan Smiley (Jumper, Fatherhood) for Hartbeat; Sabrina Wind (Desperate Housewives, Muppets Now) and Packer for Will Packer Media and Will Pearson, Conal Byrne (Pop Culture Weekly with Kyle Mcmahon, Death, Grief & Other Sh*t We Don’t Discuss) and Carrie Lieberman for iHeart Productions. Lars Jacobson (Baby Blues, Day of the Dead: Bloodline) and Jeff Keating (Living Is Winning, Follow Me) are two more who will take on the executive producer role. Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, The Poor & Hungry) will also be an executive producer and direct two episodes. Kenny Burns (Fight Night and the Million Dollar Heist) from Studio 43 and Tiffany Brown (The Gnome, Welcome to the Family) from Hartbeat will co-produce. UTV is the studio on this project.
Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist will reunify Jackson and Brewer as the pair has previously worked on the comedy-thriller 2006 movie Black Snake Moan. This also will be the most recent TV role Jackson has taken on in a while. Jackson is mainly known for his film roles, yet he has starred in several TV series, such as the Marvel series Secret Invasion on Disney+ last year and The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Apple TV+ back in 2022.
As one of the most celebrated actors of this time, Jackson received an Oscar nomination for his breakthrough role in Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). The pair have also worked alongside one another in Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight and Jackie Brown. Jackson is also prominent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portraying superhero Nick Fury. Other notable films of Jackson’s are Unbreakable, its sequel, Glass and several Star Wars films, to name a few.
Anonymous Content, CAA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman represent Jackson.