Welcome to Chippendales

If you remember the grifter in "Nightmare Alley," a movie from 2021 starring Bradley Cooper, you will notice that grifter's life trajectory is pretty similar to Steve Banerjee's. From rags to riches, they both get too greedy for their own good, only causing their demise. It is very sad that some people don't know when to stop and just be grateful. When I start the first episode of "Welcome to Chippendales," I have no idea what it's about and who the actors are. But it is an extremely pleasant surprise that it is starred by four major powerhouses in their own right: my favorite Murray Bartlett who is outstanding in "The White Lotus," Juliette Lewis who is an Oscar nominee at 18 years old, comedian Kumail Nanjiani who apparently has very good dramatic acting chops, and the underrated Annaleigh Ashford. This series hits all of the right notes. It has very good production values, good eye candy, some humor, suspense, and the important moral lesson to be learned from the downward spiral of Steve Banjeree's greedy life, similar to the sad geeker/grifter in "Nightmare Alley."

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this. I already knew I liked actor who plays the main character in other comedies I've seen him in, so that's initially what inspired me to give it a shot. It was surprisingly entertaining! I didn't know a lot of the backstory involved in coming up with the club Chippendales, so I even learned quite a bit after this series! Give it a chance, go in with an open mind, you may even learn something. Quite a few well-known, charismatic actors too! Not hard to get into the story really, and they do a decent job of introducing each character enough that you find yourself genuinely interested in what happens to them next.

I've only seen two episodes, but I really like this show!

I've always been a Kamal Nanjiani fan. I've seen all of his comedy specials and IMO, he's a riot. - and apparently a very good dramatic actor. The other actors are great as well - including the always reliable Juliette Lewis.

But the kicker is, it's not just about male dancers. It's a really interesting movie about business, creativity and applying yourself until you are successful. I think it's along the lines of Vinyl and Duce (also set in late 70's and early 80's) - but this is more upbeat. I hate that Hulu and Apple TV only give you one show a week - I'm a binge-type girl - but I am really looking forward to the next episode.

So far! How can I be the first review?!? I like things set in the 70s and 80s and this being that and a true story I decided to watch( even tho male dancers aren't my thing)! I watched the 2 episodes that have aired and I think it's decent. I like Kumail Nanjiani in some previous things I've seen him in. I get him confused with Nick Mohamed who's very funny. Juliet Lewis looked at first like she just had a small role but looks like she'll be a regular. Her looks change so drastically from thing to thing I didn't recognize her at first. Any ways I think I'm going to like it because its seems well done( so far) and I like that time era!

Update: I didn't realize this was a mini series - my bad. That explains the fast pace development. Overall it was enjoyable, but it would have been so much better as a continuing series.

I watched the most recent documentary about Chippendales, which made me interested in checking this show out to see how much it aligned.

There's a bunch of creative liberties, I'm sure, but the writing and acting seem to be on point. The show is pretty fast-paced in terms of how the club progressed compared to how the documentary laid it out, but I think it's because they want more time to develop the characters (so you are be able to see their good sides before you see their bad sides).

I'm super impressed by the accuracy of the costumes, hair/makeup and even the cinematography. They actually try to make it look like a show that was filmed back then with the filters and shooting styles (e.g. Slow pan ins from far away). If you're a film buff, you'll appreciate the subtleties.

I'm excited to see where this goes and hope it stays on track. I'm also hoping they give some time to develop storylines for some of the dancers, since in the documentary they had a lot of stories to tell - plus, it's always interesting to see from a different side of the business.