Summer Slack Streaming - Welcome to Chippendales - Miniseries

Welcome to Chippendales continues Disney+/Hulu's good run of short run series. The biographical drama miniseries created by Robert Siegel inspired by the book Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders by K. Scot Macdonald & Patrick MontesDeOca.

Starring Kumail Nanjiani as Somen "Steve" Banerjee, the founder of Chippendales. The eight episode series commences in the 1970's in Los Angeles. Indian immigrant Somen Banerjee dreams of becoming a successful businessman much like his idol Hugh Hefner. 

Adopting the name Steve, he leaves his job as a gas station manager to open a backgammon club "Destiny II". Meeting club promoter Paul Snider and his wife, Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten, Steve convinces him to join the struggling business. 

After several failed gimmicks, Dorothy and Paul bring Steve to a gay bar, where he is inspired to transform their business into a male striptease show for women. 

Renaming the club Chippendales, Steve enlists the help of Emmy-winning choreographer Nick De Noia while Dorothy suggests that the staff wear collars and cuffs based on the Playboy Bunnies. The club becomes a hit, but Paul clashes with Nick, who fires him as the show's emcee. Deeply jealous and controlling of Dorothy, Paul shoots her and then himself in 1980.

The true crime/stripper series wraps up five years later. Steve is now living in a village in Switzerland, but is still managing to run Chippendales overseas. In a flashback, Nick's shooter is shown to have confessed to the crime after being caught in a drug sting operation. 

He ratted out Ray who is working with the feds for immunity to get Steve to confess. Not knowing the FBI wired the room, Steve confessed to Nick's murder and to three other murders that Steve hired Ray to do over the last five years. 

While in prison now back in Los Angeles, Steve learns that he's being charged for RICO which means his company and assets are frozen by the government, putting his now ex wife, Irene and his now 7 year old daughter in financial ruin. 

As Steve is sitting in his dark empty cell, He has a hallucination of Nick's ghost who gives Steve a piece of his mind from beyond the grave, by giving the realisation of all the damage he caused during the past 10 years. 

At the conclusion of the series, Steve is shown to have committed suicide hours before his sentencing. Resulting in Irene being able to inherit everything, including Chippendales.

Who would have thought the world of male stripping would be some evil. This was an interesting little series with Kumail Nanjiani giving a great performance!

Murray Bartlett continues his golden run of TV role as Nick De Noia. This follows his amazing The White Lotus season one performance along with his recent role in Physical with fellow Aussie, Rose Byrne.

Welcome to Chippendales is perfect summer viewing. It streams now on Disney+.