The upcoming true-crime series premiers on Hulu this November.
When we think about Chippendales, we tend to think about male strippers. And for good reason too: At its Las Vegas location and on its massive world tours, the “male revue show” is endlessly popular for the kind of person whose idea of “fun” is watching hot men slowly remove their clothing while dancing on a sexily-lit stage. (It’s me. I’m that person.) But in reality, the history of Chippendales is much darker than some washboard abs and a pair of tearaway pants would suggest. Dig deep enough into the origin story of this Vegas Strip mainstay and you’ll soon find yourself immersed in a juicy story of failed partnership, deceit, betrayal, and even murder.
Welcome to Chippendales, an upcoming miniseries, dives into this other side. Described in a press release as a “sprawling true-crime saga,” this new Hulu drama “tells the outrageous story of Somen ‘Steve’ Banerjee, an Indian immigrant who became the unlikely founder of the world’s greatest male-stripping empire — and let nothing stand in his way in the process.”
Created by Pam & Tommy’s Emmy-nominated Robert Siegel, Welcome to Chippendales (formerly titled Immigrant) stars The Big Sick Oscar nominee Kumail Nanjiani as central character Somen, who immigrates to the United States, and tries to become rich with several different business ventures before finally landing on the idea for a first-of-its-kind male stripper dance troupe that would be targeted towards women. But as suggested by the “let nothing stand in his way” bit in the plot synopsis, Banerjee was also ruthless, eventually going on to arrange the murder of his business partner Nick De Noia. (This one goes out to all the House of Gucci fans out there.)
Rounding out the cast is The White Lotus’ recent Emmy winner Murray Bartlett as Nick De Noia, Masters of Sex’s Annaleigh Ashford as Irene, Yellowjackets’ Oscar-nominated Juliette Lewis as Denise, The Good Lord Bird’s Quentin Plair as Otis, Camp’s Robin de Jesus as Ray Colon, Girls’ Andrew Rannells, Nicola Peltz as Dorthy Stratten, and Legion’s Dan Stevens as Paul Snider.
Oh yeah, and we can’t forget about all those hot male strippers, which, judging by the first trailer, will be plentiful. In just 45 seconds, we see strippers of all stripes — strippers with hairy chests, strippers with bare chests, strippers with beards, strippers with mustaches, strippers wearing tiny little bowties and very little else! There’s a stripper for everyone! It’s stripper heaven over at Welcome to Chippendales! As Murray Bartlett, in character as the soon-to-be-murdered Nick De Noia, says, “This could be unlike anything else.” I’m certainly hoping so.
Check out the first trailer for Welcome to Chippendales below.
Welcome to Chippendales premieres with its first two episodes on November 22.