A new trailer is released for McMillions, the forthcoming HBO documentary series that delves into the McDonald’s Monopoly game fraud. Known the world over with its Golden Arches logo, the fast food restaurant has lent itself to narrative explorations in the past. The Founder, a 2016 biographical drama starring Michael Keaton, focused on the creation of McDonald’s. Documentaries, such as Super Size Me and Fathead, looked at the effects of eating fast food from opposing angles. McLibel centered around a famous lawsuit filed by the McDonald’s Corporation over a fact sheet critical of the company, while Maxime, McDuff & McDo turned its lens towards unionizing attempts of McDonald’s employees.
McMillions, which is directed by James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte, is set to zero in on the McDonald’s Monopoly game scandal. Unfolding in the 1990s, the scandal has its roots in an annual promotion which the fast food chain presented to its customers. Upon purchasing certain items, customers would receive game pieces. If a customer got a monopoly, or an “instant win prize”, then they’d be eligible for some life-altering rewards which included a cash prize of $1 million dollars or a new car. Most participants ended up with little more than extra food, more fries or a complimentary soft drink. As McMillions explains, with interviews from those connected to the fraud, there’s a very good reason for that: The game was being rigged and the leader of the operation was a former police officer known as Uncle Jerry.
The documentary goes deep into the very peculiar saga. It teases how investigators went from being dismissive to, ultimately, completely invested. The new trailer from HBO, which you can watch below, boasts that the McDonald’s Monopoly story might be “the biggest fraud you’ve never heard of.” There is a good reason for that, as well. Uncle Jerry’s trial began one day before the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Executive produced by Mark Wahlberg, McMillions is slated as a six-part series. It is only one attempt to examine the fraud case that had, until recently, flown under the radar. It was reported in 2018 that Ben Affleck was interested in directing a film about the scandal, with Matt Damon chosen for a starring role.
Affleck’s project could be stuck in development hell. And, regardless, as recently as movies like Bombshell and Richard Jewell, Hollywood has shown itself to be quite comfortable taking liberties that don’t match up with what really happened. For a more straightforward exploration of the McDonald’s game fraud, viewers won’t have to wait long. McMillions will debut on February 3rd.
More: The Inventor: Biggest Reveals from HBO’s Theranos Documentary
Source: HBO
