Netflix has commissioned a new feature-length investigative documentary titled Big Chicken: A Fast-Food Conspiracy, featuring BAFTA-winning British comedian and television presenter Mo Gilligan. The 96-minute non-scripted feature is scheduled to premiere globally on the streaming platform on August 5, 2026.
Produced by Louis Theroux’s independent television production outfit Mindhouse, the studio behind the recent platform release Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere, the project charts an intensive, 28-day dietary experiment. Gilligan, a self-proclaimed enthusiast of the dish, committed to consuming a diet consisting exclusively of fried chicken three times a day for four consecutive weeks to observe the immediate physiological impacts on his body.
Beyond the personal health parameters, the film follows Gilligan as he travels from South London across the United States to examine the historical, economic, and industrial structures that underpin the global mass consumption of poultry. The narrative explores the supply logistics of commercial fast-food chains alongside the ecological and societal impacts of large-scale corporate farming practices. Additionally, the documentary addresses systemic cultural dynamics, with Gilligan confronting negative racial stereotypes traditionally associated with the dish while analyzing how it has been marketed and appropriated within contemporary consumer industries.
The structural premise of the project draws clear historical parallels to Morgan Spurlock’s landmark 2004 documentary Super-Size Me, which followed Spurlock’s 30-day McDonald’s binging experiment and earned an Academy Award nomination. Spurlock later directed a poultry-focused sequel in 2017, Super-Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!, which focused on industry gatekeeping and corporate poultry regulations before his passing in 2024. Unlike Spurlock’s restaurant-infiltration framing in the 2017 sequel, Big Chicken centers its scope on historical consumer analysis and cultural examination.
The documentary is directed by Liana Stewart, with Ellie Sabine-Singh serving as producer. Executive production duties are managed by Aloke Devichand and Nancy Strang on behalf of Mindhouse.
Leave a Comment