Naman Shrestha
Created by Shaye Ogbonna, Peacock’s ‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist’ is a biographical crime drama series adapted from the eponymous 2020 podcast. Set in 1970, the narrative revolves around the after-party, hosted by Chicken Man, that is held after the legendary Muhammad Ali returns to the boxing ring and beats Jerry Quarry. It doesn’t take long for the night of triumph to turn into the most brazen criminal underworld heist in Atlanta’s history.
As the Chicken Man invites the country’s wealthiest to join in on the celebrations, he is the one everyone suspects of setting up the entire heist. Now, he must work on proving his innocence by convincing Detective J.D. Hudson, who is assigned to get to the bottom of the case and bring the culprits to justice. The action series consists of a star-studded ensemble cast comprising Kevin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Howard, Don Cheadle, and Lori Harvey. Although the story unfolds in 1970s Atlanta, doubts regarding the actual filming sites remain as the viewers wonder if the show is shot on location or somewhere totally different.
Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist Filming Locations
‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist’ is filmed primarily in Georgia, specifically in Metro Atlanta. Principal photography for the inaugural iteration of the historical series got underway in February 2024 under the working title ‘Fight Night’ and got wrapped up after four months or so, in June of the same year. The director of the show took to social media to share his experience of being a part of the crew. He wrote, “And that is a wrap on FIGHT NIGHT: THE MILLION DOLLAR HEIST! I cannot express how honored I was to work with such a great, new, original voice such as Shaye Ogbonna. I haven’t felt this kind of creative connection with someone since I was working with John Singleton. I know you all are going to love what we made together, but you’re also going to mark this as the start of a incredible career. Congratulations, Shaye!”
Metro Atlanta, Georgia
Most of the pivotal sequences for ‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist’ are lensed in Metro Atlanta, a metropolitan area that mainly consists of Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Clayton counties. The production team takes over different parts of Atlanta and decorates the locales and sites aptly to make them appear true to the story’s settings. Several important scenes are taped in and around Paschal’s Restaurant & Bar at 180 Northside Drive Southwest in Atlanta. The filming unit of the Kevin Hart starrer also sets up camp in Hotel Clermont Atlanta, by Oliver at 789 Ponce De Leon Avenue Northeast in the city of Atlanta.
They also make the most of the facilities of the state-of-the-art film studio — Assembly Studios at 2582 Assembly Boulevard in the city of Doraville. Home to 22 sound stages, the film studio also consists of four exterior locations and production services, providing different kinds of options to filmmakers. Furthermore, it offers advanced solutions when it comes to Lighting and Grip, Costumes, Support Spaces like dressing rooms and green rooms, and Fabrication and Staff shop. With the help of all these services, Assembly Studios serves as a one-stop shop for the makers. In an interview with American Film Institute, creator Shaye Ogbonna was asked about his experience collaborating with Samuel L. Jackson.
Acknowledging the fact that Samuel was in Atlanta when the real robbery occurred, Shaye said, “We shot all of the exteriors at “Chicken Man’s” real party house in Collier Heights and Sam just shows up. He wasn’t even working that day, but he happened to have gotten married at a church in that neighborhood 30 years earlier and had a deep connection to the neighborhood. Sam is like an historian and knows a lot about Atlanta, especially during that time. He knew all about the history in terms of Black cops not being able to arrest white people and Black cops having to dress and shower in different locations. Sam was very much involved, so you couldn’t slip anything past him because he literally lived it, and he knew people who were at the robbery.”
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