Dinner and a movie? Chick-fil-A apparently wants to be your one-stop shop.
On August 21, Deadline reported that the fast-food chain known for its chicken sandwiches and banana pudding milkshakes will launch its own streaming platform with a slate of original programming.
Chick-fil-A is reportedly working with “several major production companies” to develop “family-friendly” programming, much of it reality TV, and is in talks to license and acquire content, as well as scripted content and animation.
According to Deadline, this includes a family-friendly game show from the company behind NBC’s “The Wall,” as well as Sugar23, the same production company behind series like “13 Reasons Why,” “The OA” and “True Detective.” Deadline reports that the Sugar23-produced show has landed a 10-episode order.
Sources told Deadline that the chain is considering a launch in late 2024.
Chick-fil-A declined TODAY.com’s request for comment.
But this isn’t the first time Chick-fil-A has gone down this programming path: in 2021, the company produced a series of short animated films called “Stories of Evergreen Hills.”
Additionally, Chick-fil-A is owned by the Cathy family, which has an independently managed trust that helped create Trillis Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, which frequently works with Marvel and where films such as WandaVision, Loki, and Ant-Man have been shot.
As you might expect, social media users had mixed opinions about the chicken chain’s latest foray into entertainment.
“What?” one Instagram commenter commented, echoing the surprise felt by many others.
“What are you streaming? Religious programming?” asked another. (The devout Christian faith of Chick-fil-A’s founder, S. Truett Cathy, influences many of the company’s values.)
“They’re off on Sundays so no thanks,” another Instagram user jokingly commented, questioning whether the chain’s streaming service would copy the restaurant’s Sunday closing policy.
“Are they all women’s films?” joked another.
“And it’s a Chick-fil-A original movie, Liz,” one X user posted alongside a photo of 30 Rock character Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), an actress who has frequently appeared in quirky and unconventional film, music and commercials.
“If Chick-fil-A can afford to spend millions on a streaming platform, they can certainly afford to pay their employees a livable wage,” wrote another X user. (Chick-fil-A restaurants are individually owned and operated by franchisees, and employees make an average hourly wage of about $13.43.)
“This is like a combination of the Hallmark Channel and the Worship Network,” one Reddit user predicted. “As long as they’re not publicly traded, they can do whatever they want with the money.”
