On October 26, 1970, less than a week before Halloween, 54 years ago, Muhammad Ali had a boxing match against Jerry Quarry in Atlanta, Georgia. Ali's boxing license had been suspended because he refused to serve in the military due to his objections to the Vietnam War. Ali even had a legal case that went all the way to the Supreme Court, but he was considered a draft dodger until the Supreme Court overturned his conviction. Black politicians in Atlanta were able to circumvent Ali's legal troubles and allow him to have a boxing match there. It attracted a lot of wealthy Black people. At an after-party, a group of those wealthy African Americans were robbed of their jewelry and cash. The total amount that the robbers took was estimated to be over a million. The man who owned the house where the after-party occurred was accused of organizing the crime. A couple of men who were arrested for the crime ended up shot dead, but the case was never really solved.
Shaye Ogbonna heard about this story on a podcast by Jeff Keating and Jim Roberts, not that long ago. Even with the connection to Ali, this story hasn't really been explored in visual media. It's mainly been the stuff of lore. Ogbonna developed a fictionalized account of what happened that night, adapting a lot of the theories in the podcast, which ended up weaving a narrative involving the so-called Black mafia. It's a tale with a lot of twists and turns. Ogbonna makes it all work with a thrilling series that's not only exciting but an intriguing look at the history and culture of Atlanta.
Kevin Hart (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Think Like a Man) stars as Gordon Williams who describes himself as a two-bit hustler. He's a former drug dealer and con artist nicknamed "Chicken Man." He's been arrested and in prison before. He's now trying to make a better life for himself. He's married to a church-going woman and has a couple of small children. However, he still has a lot of connections to the criminal world. He wants a better life, but he knows that as a Black man with a rap sheet, it'll be difficult to move forward and do much to elevate himself. When he hears about the Ali fight and the arrival of wealthy Black people, he wants to take the opportunity to ingratiate himself and make a connection to one of those wealthy men.
Don Cheadle (Iron Man 2 and Ocean's Eleven) also stars as J.D. Hudson, one of the first Black detectives to work for the Atlanta Police Department. As such, he has to deal with a lot of racism from White people within the department. He also has to deal with a lot of resentment or vitriol from Black people outside the department, in the community. JD is also former military who proudly served, so he's not so happy with Ali whom JD considers to be a draft dodger. He becomes even more upset when he's assigned to be Ali's bodyguard, while Ali is in Atlanta for the fight. He's also the detective assigned to investigate the armed robbery that occurs at the after-party.
Samuel L. Jackson (Iron Man 2 and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace) co-stars as Frank Moten, a businessman who lives in New York but is originally from the south. He's one of the wealthy Black people who comes to Atlanta for Ali's fight. He's also the key person with whom Chicken Man wants to connect. However, Frank's nickname is the "Black godfather," so he's considered a crime boss and part of the Black mafia. Frank has a reputation of being a stone cold gangster who people should fear. He does carry himself as a well-dressed gentlemen who doesn't lose control of emotions and is very smart and strategic.
Chicken Man tries to ingratiate himself to Frank. He struggles to do so, but he is able to put together an after-party and get Frank to attend it. When Chicken Man and Frank arrive at the party, they find that the party is under siege by armed robbers. The robbers forced the people upstairs to pretend that the party is fine. They then forced the people downstairs to strip down to their underwear, so they can steal their possessions. Chicken Man and Frank are part of the downstairs victims, but immediately Frank starts to suspect that Chicken Man is the mastermind and him being a victim is just an act.
Taraji P. Henson (Think Like a Man and Hustle & Flow) also co-stars as Vivian Thomas whose nickname is "Sweets." She was a stripper and a bit of a con artist too. She gets involved with a numbers racket, which is like a private lottery. It's a bit of a grift that she ran with Chicken Man. As a result, the two had an affair. Chicken Man was cheating on his wife with Sweets. As such, she becomes a victim too who is probably embarrassed the most. She's also one of the few who believes Chicken Man isn't the mastermind.
What starts out as an African American version of The Godfather (1972) or The Sopranos (1999) eventually evolves into a buddy cop flick between Chicken Man and JD that's akin to something like Beverly Hills Cop (1984). The two try to find out who's really behind the armed robbery. Hart is obviously the comic relief, being verbose and winsome. Cheadle is more the straight man, Mr. law and order, the person following the rules. Cheadle gives the more dramatic performance. Hart is more comedic but Hart is not totally comedic. Hart is provided opportunities to flex his dramatic chops too.
Terrence Howard (Empire and Hustle & Flow) rounds out the main cast as Richard Wheeler, aka "Cadillac Richie." He's the son of a gangster who was a big deal in New Jersey. Cadillac inherited his dad's business when his dad died, but he feels second fiddle to Frank. Cadillac is living in Frank's shadow and feels like he's not his own man. He's also the go-between with the other gangsters in Atlanta. He talks to them. They've come from all over the country and he wants to be more of a power player among them. Howard can be sly and sinister, but the wig he wears for his character does make him feel like a villain from a blaxploitation flick.
The supporting cast is fantastic though. Marsha Stephanie Blake (The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey and When They See Us) is able to shine as Delores Hudson, the wife to Chicken Man who refuses to call him that nickname. Dexter Darden (Saved by the Bell and The Maze Runner) also stands out as Muhammad Ali, even though he's really a tertiary character. There's even a sequence akin to Ocean's Eleven (2001) where we see the robbers coming together and the series does a good job of establishing them and even feeling for them.
Sinqua Walls (Power and Friday Night Lights) plays McKinley Rogers aka "Mac," a Vietnam veteran who is estranged from the mother of his child. Mac isn't even allowed to see his child unless he can pay child support. He's desperate to score a lot of money, so he can start to rebuild that relationship. He's one of the main robbers who gets recruited for this Atlanta heist. Yet, the heartbreaking arc is the one involving Mac's seeming little brother, Baby Ray, played by Jalyn Hall (All American and Till). This series proved again how great this young actor really is.
Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 1 hr. / 8 eps.
Available on Peacock.