Remember Super Size Me? The 2004 documentary that was nominated for an Oscar but nearly killed Morgan Spurlock? Well, we’re doing that again — almost exactly.
On Wednesday, Netflix announced a new doc starring British comedian Mo Gilligan. Titled Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy, the feature-length film will see its protagonist “eating nothing but fried chicken” three times a day for 28 straight days. Spoiler alert: It will be delicious at first, but ultimately not good for his health.
Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy hails from Mindhouse, the production company that recently brought us the documentary Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere, which debuted this March on Netflix. Big Chicken marks Gilligan’s first Netflix doc; it is a “bold experiment,” Netflix says. (It is, it’s just one that has pretty much been done before.)
On August 5, Big Chicken will expose “the hidden costs behind our cravings,” according to Netflix. “Over the course of the month, [Gilligan] embarks on an eye-opening journey from South London to the United States to reveal the historical origins of fried chicken and the social, economic and industrial forces driving our mass consumption of it — from fast-food chains to large-scale farming — and the impact on our health, our planet and the way we eat.”
“As a Black British comedian, Mo also seeks to reframe perceptions of the dish by confronting negative stereotypes associated with it, examining how it’s been culturally appropriated and advertised in today’s market,” the press release reads.
Twenty-two years ago, Spurlock, now deceased, says he ate nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days; Spurlock would reveal later that he also abused alcohol during the same time period. Despite walking each day, Spurlock gained nearly 25 pounds that month. His cholesterol soared, he experiencedmood swings and sexual dysfunction, and fat accumulated in his liver.
The craziest thing here is that in 2017, Spurlock did a Super Size Me sequel, but about chicken and the shady chicken industry. Sound familiar?
A spokesperson for Netflix did not respond to The Hollywood Reporter‘s request for comment on the similarities between the films.
There are also differences. In Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!, Spurlock does not binge fast food — he serves it. In his last film before passing, Spurlock opens a pop-up fast-food chicken restaurant, Holy Chicken!, in an effort to infiltrate the gate-kept industry.
Spurlock died in 2024 due to complications related to cancer.