McMillion$ was a big hit for HBO among people who love crime dramas, board games and also fast food, and its creators are ready to tell their next wild story for Apple TV+. This time, however, the tale will involve a story from the other side of the soda wars.
The Hollywood Reporter wrote on Friday about the next project from James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte, who spearheaded McMillion$, the story of a huge but largely-forgotten scandal involving the McDonalds Monopoly promotional game. That story, which perfectly blended criminal intrigue and corporate investigations with a mix of absurdity, makes the duo perfect for their next story: a legal fight over whether Pepsi was obligated to give a military jet to a man over a promotion from the 1990s.
Called The Jet, the Apple TV+ series is expected to explore what unfolded when a joking promotion for a Harrier jet suddenly got serious when one enterprising person collected enough Pepsi Points to take the soft drink company to court over the claim.
The series will delve into Pepsi’s 1990s promotional campaign that allowed consumers to trade in “Pepsi Points” for merchandise like T-shirts, leather jackets and other items.
Ads for the “Buy Pepsi, Get Stuff” campaign also featured a Harrier II jump jet available for 7 million points. When a man actually managed to gather that many points, it led to a court case over whether Pepsi had actually promised to give away a jet.
The series will cover the court case while taking a nostalgic deep dive into 1990s popular culture and the aftermath of the tongue-in-cheek promise from the ad campaign.
The case in question is fairly infamous in some circles, especially those who have gone to law school. But like the story covered in McMillion$, enough time has passed that it’s likely to reach a very unfamiliar audience when it hits the streaming service. Given the style the duo told the Monopoly story with, there’s plenty of reason to get excited about what The Jet will look and feel like. Here’s hoping there’s another secret star like Agent Doug hiding somewhere in this one, too.