JD Hudson and Chicken Man join forces

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains plot details for Peacock’s “Fight Night”

In the sixth and final episode of ‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,’ viewers learn the shocking truth. A twist reveals that New Jersey gangster Richard “Cadillac Richie” Wheeler (Terrance Howard), who appeared to be the victim of the brazen robbery, was the mastermind behind the whole adventure. His attempt to usurp the position of Frank ‘Black Godfather’ Moten (Samuel L. Jackson) almost prevented Atlanta from transforming into the Black Mecca.

Based on Jeff Keating’s true-crime podcast of the same name, Peacock’s ‘Fight Night’, created by Shaye Ogbonna, is based on the real-life heist following Muhammad Ali’s triumphant return to the boxing ring in 1970. The fight would land Ali in trouble again to take. the boxing stratosphere following his blacklisting for refusing to be drafted into the Vietnam War. However, the day after the fight, the robbery, a hustler named Chicken Man (Kevin Hart), and Atlanta’s first black detective, J.D. Hudson (Don Cheadle), made headlines.

Ogbonna’s star-studded and evocative series brings this little-known tale of Black Atlanta lore to life while immersing audiences in the specificity of the culture, texture and events that took place some five decades ago. “This show is about people who were born prematurely,” says the creator/showrunner.

Recently, Ogbonna spoke with Variety about his personal connections to the heist, why Muhammad Ali is such an important figure in the series and Debbie Allen’s iconic cameo.

As an Atlantean who spent his formative years in the city, you said you knew nothing about the heist until recently. Why do you think it was such a coveted secret?

Local African-American stories associated with a place are usually told orally. You won’t find it in a book. You won’t see it on TV or in the news. All I knew was that Ali had a fight in Atlanta, and I barely knew about that. I didn’t know its implications until I heard about this project. After listening to the podcast, I went home and asked my aunts, uncles, and friends about it. Everyone knew about it.

Can you share any personal connections to the robbery?

I’ll just tell you this: I’ve discovered that I have a connection to Chicken Man in my own family. People from my area also told me that they knew one of the robbers. I still find these connections that validate the choice to tell this story about community and about adding humanity to everyone, not just our most important people or our victims.

Although the fight against Muhammad Ali is just the backdrop to the story, what made you decide to follow him for the first three episodes of the series?

It came from a personal place for me. Ali lit the torch at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and I remember people crying, but I didn’t get it. I was very young, and the Ali I saw growing up was not the Ali who was vilified by his entire country because he had chosen not to join the war because of his religious beliefs. It was important to explore that through his relationship with Atlanta. He comes to this city and sees the energy associated with the type of person he is as an ambitious black man. This is probably the most crucial time in his life. He’s not this larger-than-life figure. He fights the system he believes was created to destroy him. I was interested in exploring that idea. He came back [to Atlanta] several times. He came back during the child murders and some of our most pivotal moments.

You have chosen to reveal this story through the eyes of Chicken Man and Det. Hudson. Why was it important to position them as the anchors of ‘Fight Night’?

Both men are polarizing elements of my community on opposite sides of the law. But they are both fathers; they are both communal men. Episode 6, “Community Men,” is one of my favorite episodes. JD and Chicken are trying to solve this problem in the community. It’s important to me to proudly show black men trying to guide and protect the community. A con artist and a police officer must unite to save the city; that’s a western. To me, their stories are like a two-hander because both men drive our show.

The texture of “Fight Night,” from the set design to the costumes, is so authentic. Can you talk about working with your department heads to make sure everything is right?

Because I’m from the community, I should be able to come back and walk the streets. I can’t express my love for Atlanta; it’s just in my bones. If you notice, almost everyone on this show is trying to reach the next level: that’s Atlanta. The most important thing for me was to get that kind of energy and theme in terms of dialogue and everything else. I wish I could take credit for Ernesto [Martinez] great job with wardrobe. What Toni Barton did with production design, what Lawrence [Davis] and Duwana [Harris] did with her, we had a fantastic team of professionals who got what we were trying to do, and they came through.

In episode 6, the audience learns that Cadillac is the mastermind behind the heist. Is that true in real life?

Frank Moten always believed that Cadillac Richie committed the robbery, but the real Cadillac Richie is a little different from our Cadillac Richie; the real Cadillac Richie was more of a robber. We just made him more of a mafia figure. But the consensus of the people involved was that Cadillac Richie took the fight and left. He was clearly trying to show that he had an alibi. Ultimately, Cadillac perished. I think it was related to revenge for the robbery.

Let’s talk about casting Debbie Allen as Cadillac’s mother. That was perfect casting. How did you convince her to come on board?

It just worked. She came in, we hugged and said, “Honey, can we put that line back in?” I was looking forward to saying that sentence. Originally I wanted to cut that last line where she says, “That licorice-chewing bastard.” I said, “Ma’am. Debbie Allen, we can do whatever you want.” She was just light.

As a creator, what makes you most proud of “Fight Night”?

I grew up watching “Uptown Saturday Night,” “Boomerang,” and “Coming to America,” these iconic pieces of entertainment where we get together and have fun. I have always wanted to contribute to that. I hope it sparks more stories like this.

This interview has been edited and condensed.