Historically, Chick-fil-A is known for its juicy fried chicken sandwiches and, uh, not-so-great history of supporting anti-LGBTQ+ causes. But in the future, the fast food chain could be known for something else: original entertainment content (yes, really).
On Wednesday, Deadline reported that Chick-fil-A plans to launch its own streaming platform later this year, “working with a number of major production companies… to create family-friendly shows, particularly in the unscripted space.”
According to the outlet, Top Gear and The X Factor alum Brian Gibson will be leading programming for the platform, where the budget for unscripted shows is believed to be a whopping $400,000 per half-hour.
Whatever potentially winds up on this streaming service, it will give all of 30 Rock’s fake TV shows a run for their money. Chick-fil-A’s official website still boasts about its founder’s “Biblical principles.” Does this mean that a squeaky-clean take on Amelia Dimoldenberg’s Chicken Shop Date series is on the horizon? Will Chicken Little become a born-again Christian? I fear the answer to both of those questions might be yes. The brand previously produced a series of animated short films called Stories of Evergreen Hills — which follow a young girl named Sam as she “discovers how small acts of kindness can bring people together — for its website.
Yet no matter how that one gay friend of yours justifies their Chick-fil-A cravings, the company’s history with queer and trans communities remains a bonafide mess. Back in 2019, followed backlash, the company announced that, beginning in 2020, it would no longer donate to charities with anti-LGBTQ+ views such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and the Salvation Army. However, the company owner's support for anti-LGBTQ+ causes has also sparked controversy in more recent years. In 2021, Them reported that its owner is still donating to anti-LGBTQ+ groups.
Since its inception, Chick-fil-A has been owned by the Cathy family. In 2021, The Daily Beast reported that former CEO Dan Cathy, who handed the job over to his son Andrew Truett Cathy in 2021 — Chick-fil-A Succession, anyone? Now that I would tune in to — was one of several wealthy conservatives who donated big bucks to the National Christian Charitable Foundation (NCF), which has attempted to squash the Equality Act and reportedly helps push anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Cathy has a years-long history with the NCF — recent 990 tax records show that his charitable organization, the Dan and Rhonda Cathy Foundation, previously donated $5,750 to the NCF between the years of 2016 and 2018, per Business Insider.
Although Andrew Truett Cathy hasn’t publicly shared his personal feelings toward the LGBTQ+ community, Chick-fil-A’s unsavory reputation surrounding queer rights remains strong. In the meantime, the next time you’re craving chicken content, I humbly suggest blowing off their streamer in favor of a Chicken Run rewatch.
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.