Welcome to Chippendales Won’t Be Around For That Long

Get the stripper jokes out of your system now because, by the time you watch a few minutes of Welcome to Chippendales, you’ll see this dark story is nothing to laugh about. Based on true events, the Hulu limited series tells the precariously debaucherous story of Indian immigrant Somen “Steve” Banerjee, played by Emmy-nominated actor Kumail Nanjiani, whose pursuit of the illusive American Dream led him to found the male stripper dance troupe Chippendales in Los Angeles in 1979. The expected half-naked choreography, cocaine, and luxurious toupees are all in abundance, but so are the backstabbings, assassinations, and emotional rollercoasters.

The series maps the devolution of Banerjee from a humble gas station manager named Somen to a paranoid megalomaniac named Steve, who pays to have people killed to settle business disputes. On paper, the cast is worthy of award consideration. White Lotus‘ Murray Bartlett, Yellowjackets’ Juliette Lewis, Pam & Tommy’s Jen Cohn, and Westworld‘s Patrick Cage are a handful of the stars set to bring the show creator and Pam & Tommy creator, Robert Siegel’s hedonistic vision to life. But, the narrative of the series is predicated on the typically comedic Nanjiani tapping into a level of emotional temerity the Silicon Valley star had never reached prior and couldn’t let go of after.

“I’ve never gotten to do this much emotionally challenging work. The scene where Steve was being interrogated by the cops—at the end of every take, I was shaking and soaked in sweat. And I’m just sitting there talking,” Nanjiani said in a New York Times interview.

The cultural ubiquity of Chippendales dancers has overshadowed its seedy origin. Most people who associate it with G-strings and pelvic gyrations don’t know Banerjee existed or that the last year of his life was spent in jail for the crimes he committed against his former business partner Nick De Noia. Welcome to Chippendales will be a revelatory ride for many and a reminder of the evil machinations of Los Angeles nightclub life in the 1980s.

This series has a lot of ground to cover in seven weeks, and here’s the complete release schedule so you don’t miss any of it:

What time do Welcome to Chippendales episodes come out?

Each episode of Welcome to Chippendales will stream on Hulu at 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT.

When is the next episode of Welcome to Chippendales coming out?

The first two episodes are now available on Hulu. Episode 4 will stream next Tuesday, December 6 at 12:00 AM ET.

How many episodes are in Welcome to Chippendales Season 1?

Welcome to Chippendales will be a mini-series running for seven weeks with a total of 8 episodes.

Here’s the complete release schedule for Welcome to Chippendales Season 1:

Episode 1: Now streaming as of November 22

Episode 2: Now streaming as of November 22

Episode 3: Now streaming as of November 29

Episode 4: Streaming on December 6

Episode 5: Streaming on December 13

Episode 6: Streaming on December 20

Episode 7: Streaming on December 27

Episode 8: Streaming on January 3, 2023