There’s a new Hulu docuseries in the works about the rise and eventual demise of Freaknik, the legendary street party known as “Black Spring Break.”
The documentary series titled Freaknik: the craziest party ever told will take viewers back to the festival in 1990s Atlanta, before it was finally closed.
The project’s executive producers include Geraldine L. Porras, P Frank Williams, Jermaine Dupri and Luther Campbell, according to Variety.
Per Hulu, the series will chronicle “the rise and fall of a small Atlanta HBCU picnic that exploded into an influential street party and spotlighted ATL as a major cultural scene.”
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Mega-producer Jermaine Dupri first revealed details about the docuseries in December 2022.
“It’s the first day we’ve been shooting the documentary Freaknik. So to anyone who missed Freaknik, we’re going to show you all what you missed,” Dupri said in a video posted to Instagram.
Freaknik dates back to 1982, when students from Spelman and Morris Brown colleges held a small picnic to celebrate spring break, according to a 1997 report by The Associated Press. The rally gained national attention when it was mentioned on the sitcom A different worldand began to attract students from other HBCUs.
At its peak, Freaknik attracted hundreds of thousands of people. But the street party brought nightmares of traffic, reports of drug use, sexual assaults and rapes.
By the mid-1990s, business leaders and residents had grown tired of the chaos and pressured Atlanta leaders to crack down.
“Few issues in the city of Atlanta have been so divisive in the past 10 years,? then-mayor Bill Campbell told the AP. “It’s a very difficult weekend, even under the best of circumstances.”
The city has increased the police presence and officers have begun monitoring crowds. The celebration fizzled out in 1999 due to increased police security.
The Hulu docuseries on Freaknik is slated for release later this year.