‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Premiere Date, Cast, and More About the Kumail Nanjiani Show
Hulu wants you to make it rain on Kumail Nanjiani in his new series, Welcome to Chippendales. The Marvel star, whose career blew up after projects like Silicon Valley and The Big Sick, now appears in a talked-about drama, Welcome to Chippendales. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming miniseries, from its premiere date to the rest of the cast.
‘Welcome to Chippendales’ tells the story of the Chippendales founder
Welcome to Chippendales follows Nanjiani, who plays the founder of the real-life stripper troupe Chippendales, Somen “Steve” Banerjee. According to Deadline, the show details the insane, crime-ridden, weirdly comedic story behind the extravaganza that became a cultural phenomenon.
Welcome to Chippendales will also look at how Steve was caught up in a plot to kill several Chippendales producers, choreographers, and dancers. He eventually plead guilty to a number of charges, including arson, murder for hire, and racketeering.
The series focuses primarily on Steve as an ambitious immigrant chasing the American dream. He saves up money working as a gas station attendant, then opens a nightclub. When his backgammon theme doesn’t pan out for him, he tries something different — male strippers.
Kumail Nanjiani was the first choice for the lead role
The true story has made its way out into the world before. It was the focus of an episode of the podcast Welcome To Your Fantasy and the Discovery+ true crime docuseries Curse of the Chippendales. Executive producer Robert Siegel has experience with taking larger-than-life true stories and putting them to paper, having penned the likes of The Founder (about McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc) and Hulu’s Pam & Tommy.
According to Vanity Fair, Siegel wanted Nanjiani to play the Chippendales founder from the start. “Kumail was always my first choice,” the creator explained. However, “I think he was a little reluctant or maybe nervous about playing a bad guy,” he added.
“This is by far the most challenging job I’ve ever done, in terms of the length of the shoot, the content of the scenes, and emotional difficulty of those scenes,” Nanjiani shared. Fortunately, he was able to call upon his fellow actors to help him figure out how to play it.
‘Welcome to Chippendales’ cast and premiere date
Nanjiani called upon the likes of new Emmy award-winning White Lotus actor Murray Bartlett. He portrayed Chippendales choreographer Nick De Noia. Masters of Sex star Annaleigh Ashford portrays Irene, while Dan Stevens plays Paul Snider, a promoter who killed his wife. Juliette Lewis rounds out the main cast as Denise.
Quentin Plair recurs as the only Black Chippendales member back then, Otis. Spencer Boldman plays Lance McCrae, while Robin de Jesus will play Ray Colon. Transformers star Nicola Peltz will appear in a guest capacity as Playboy model and Snider’s wife, Dorothy. Girls actor Andrew Rannells is also listed as a recurring cast member.
Welcome to Chippendales is set to premiere on November 22, 2022, on Hulu. The show’s first two episodes will drop on November 22, after which episodes will be released weekly. The series will have six episodes, with the finale airing on December 20, 2022.
