Dexter Darden, Taraji P. Henson Join Kevin Hart’s Heist Thriller ‘Fight Night’

Kevin Hart’s “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” has cast Dexter Darden as its Muhammad Ali and Taraji P. Henson in the role of businesswoman Vivian Thomas.

Darden, the “Saved by the Bell” star, will center the series as the infamous fighter and activist in the Atlanta-set Peacock. The show explores the heavyweight fight and criminal underground heist in the city dubbed “the Black Mecca.”

Henson’s Vivian Thomas is a savvy businesswoman and Chicken Man’s mistress. Executive producer and Hart will portray Chicken Man, a hustler trying to “level up.”

Darden and Henson join previously announced cast members Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, who plays notorious gangster Frank Moten and Terrence Howard, who gangster Richard “Cadillac” Wheeler.

The official logline is as follows: “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.”

Hailing from Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,” is based on the true crime podcast “Fight Night,” which is produced by Doghouse Pictures, LLC and iHeartMedia + Entertainment, Inc.

“Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” is created and written by Shaye Ogbonna (“Penguin,” “The Chi,” “God’s Country”), with Ogbonna and Jason Horwitch (“Echo 3,” “The Calling”) serving as showrunners and executive producers.

Hart also executive produces the Peacock series alongside Sabrina Wind for Will Packer Media, Bryan Smiley and Mike Stein for Hartbeat, Conal Byrne and Carrie Lieberman for iHeartPodcasts, Jeff Keating for Doghouse Pictures, LLC, Lars Jacobson and Craig Brewer, who is set to direct episodes 101, 102, 107 and 108.

Darden can also been seen in “Chang Can Dunk,” “The Maze Runner,” “The Maze Runner: the Scorch Trials” and “It’s a Wonderful Binge.”

Henson (“The Color Purple,” “Hidden Figures”) is represented by CAA, M88 and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.

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