“It’s not personal; it’s just business,” or so the saying goes. In the fourth episode of Welcome to Chippendales, titled “Just Business,” we see that sometimes it’s both personal and business. At the end of last week’s episode, Nick De Noia boarded a flight for New York City after having a clash with Steve Banerjee, who was photographing dancers for the club’s first calendar without his creative director’s knowledge or involvement. Here’s where we pick things up.
(Erin Simkin/Hulu)
Otis (Quentin Plair), the only Black dancer at Chippendales and the club’s top performer, arrives at work to find that the calendars have just arrived. He’s so eager to see his shoot that he opens up a box outside and quickly flips through the pages. By the time he reaches December, the reality of the situation dawns on him. Otis isn’t in the calendar. He hides his disappointment as jack-of-all-trades Ray (Robin de Jesús) comes out and asks for help loading the boxes inside.
Steve Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani) is in his office as Otis and Ray bring in the last boxes, announcing that they’ve already pre-sold a lot of copies. Denise (Juliette Lewis) comes in to pull Otis for rehearsals, and when she’s asked if she’s heard from Nick, she shares that she hasn’t. “I could kill him,” Steve declares, feeling abandoned by his business partner. “Not if I beat you to it,” Denise playfully jokes.
(Jessica Brooks/Hulu)
We find Nick De Noia (Murray Bartlett) in a posh restaurant in New York City, meeting with two theater colleagues, Bernie (Roland Ponce Rusinek) and Lew (Jack Laufer). He pitches them his idea for an “erotic cabaret” that would feature only male performers, calling it “U.S. Male” with a slogan of “We’ve got your package.” His friends thought he was joking at first, and the lunch becomes uncomfortable quickly. He informs them about the success of Chippendales and says this would be bigger. “There hasn’t been a nightclub sensation in Manhattan since Studio 54 shut down,” he pleads, announcing that, unlike Chippendales, his version would be all-inclusive and let men see the show, too. The two friends call the concept “sleazy” and Nick excuses himself to the bathroom, punching a wall in anger.
Steve has arranged a calendar sale and autograph signing with Waldenbooks at a nearby mall. Otis helps set up the autograph booth as he watches a large crowd of women gather, seeing all of his white colleagues being introduced to cheers. He ends up alone with Steve and decides to ask him why he was cut from the calendar. Steve tells him it would’ve been bad for sales, claiming that women’s husbands would be jealous and feel like they couldn’t compete with a Black man. When Otis tells Steve that this isn’t the South, he uses his own skin color in defense, saying he experiences racism every day and understands. “You can’t take this personally; this is business,” Steve says. “And in business, there’s only one color that matters.” The color of money and envy. Steve and Irene (Annaleigh Ashford) manage the cash box as one of the regular Chippendales customers (Nancy De Mayo) asks Otis why he’s not in the calendar. “Maybe next year,” he shrugs. As the event winds down, Steve talks to the manager of the Waldenbooks, who tells Steve he will take as many copies of the calendar as he can get.
(Jessica Brooks/Hulu)
Nick drowns his sorrows at a bar, distracted by the piano player who sings “Someone is Waiting” from Company. Afterward, the singer introduces himself as Bradford Barton (Andrew Rannells), and the two dive into a conversation about their favorite Stephen Sondheim songs. Cut to the two in Nick’s bed at his hotel. Nick tells Bradford about his failed marriage to Jennifer O’Neil (“I was deeply in love with her, in my way”) and the two discuss their coming out stories. Nick is only out of the closet to his closest friends. He then tells Bradford his idea for an erotic cabaret, and Bradford asks if it’s like Chippendales, already familiar with the successful L.A. club. Nick shares his affiliation and Bradford asks why he wouldn’t just open a New York City version of it. “Two words: Steve Banerjee,” Nick tells his lover. “Just do the Chippendales; it’ll kill here,” Bradford argues, pointing out the rarity of having an established name already. He tells Nick he’s an idiot if he doesn’t just repeat the successful Chippendales formula, with the exception being allowing all fans of the male form to see the show (Bradford had been turned away while trying to visit the club with his sister). “On top of being right, I’m also rich,” he smiles. Nick begins to laugh as the two get back to business.
Steve argues with the owner of the print shop (Adrian Sparks) that produced the calendars and is frustrated that his order isn’t receiving priority. The owner tells him they have other customers to please. “What if you didn’t?”, Steve asks.
We see Denise struggling to run the show without Nick. When she’s told there’s a phone call for her, she dismisses it until she’s told it’s Nick. She stops laundering the garment she was tending to and takes the call. “Pack your bags, baby, we’re heading to the big apple,” Nick shouts through the phone, telling her his plan to open a Chippendales in New York City and that he has a financial backer, so all Steve has to do is make more money without investing anything. Denise is stunned, and as showtime is called, she hangs up on Nick without saying goodbye.
Otis takes the stage for his number, dressed in a purple trench coat with cheetah print trim. Larry, the emcee (Adam Ray), announces that Otis is playing a pimp in this routine, and we see a pained expression on Otis’ face as he prepares to step out and feed into a stereotype. As Otis performs, to the delight of a packed club of white women armed with dollar bills, he looks over at the merchandise booth and sees a line of women eager to buy a calendar that excludes him.
(Erin Simkin/Hulu)
Steve pulls Irene away from the merchandise booth to share some news with her, taking her up to his office. In private, he tells her that he bought the printing press and she’s confused. He laughs as he shares that he quoted The Godfather, making the owner an offer he couldn’t refuse. As the accountant, Irene is angry that she wasn’t brought into the decision or given the opportunity to do the math. Steve tells her he did it himself and that the decision made sense. “I’m a king; you’re my queen,” he tells her as he tries to make it romantic. The next thing Irene knows, Steve has brought her to The Palisades Club for dinner. The Maitre d' (Matthew Floyd Miller) dismisses Steve as he doesn’t have a reservation and isn’t a member of the club. When Steve asks how he joins the club, he is smugly told that he needs to have another member sponsor him. Steve accuses the host of being racist towards him, yelling at the man as Irene tries to calm him down.
The printing company Steve bought has been renamed Banerjee Print Works. Steve stands there watching copies of the calendar collate, the irony being that he left India to avoid taking over his father’s printing press, now owning one with the same name.
Denise leads dancers through rehearsals for a new routine when Nick returns to Chippendales. “Nice job, guys,” he interrupts rehearsal. Denise’s face runs through all of the emotions of the moment, exploding in a slap across Nick’s face, followed by a laugh and pulling him into a hug.
Nick goes upstairs to see Steve. “Well, well, well, look whose back,” Steve says. “We’re opening a Chippendales in New York and I’m going to run it,” Nick announces. As Steve tries to interject, Nick talks over him, moving items off the corner of Steve’s desk to sit on it. He tells Steve that he has investors already and it won’t cost him a cent. He gives Steve an ultimatum – either he lets Nick open and run a New York City version of Chippendales, or Nick opens his own competing business, and they go to war. “It will be ugly, Steve,” Nick promises. “Blood will spill.”
(Jessica Brooks/Hulu)
Nick goes to talk to Denise while Steve calls Irene into his office. “I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse,” Nick tells Denise as he invites her to join him in New York City. Meanwhile, Steve tells Irene that he’s had his best idea yet, opening an East Coast Chippendales location and transferring Nick there. Irene goes downstairs and excitedly joins Nick and Denise at the bar.
After the show, Steve goes backstage and hears voices coming from behind a closet door. Opening it up, he finds Ray and Otis have turned it into a dark room, and they’re developing photos of Otis. “What is this?”, Steve asks. “I’m making a calendar,” Otis announces. Steve becomes angry, accusing Otis of trying to make a competing calendar. Ray defends himself, telling Steve that Otis told him this was Steve’s idea. Otis is angry, asking Steve why, if he can’t be in the official Chippendales calendar, he can’t be in his own. “What makes you think you could do this to me?”, Steve snaps. “I’m following you!”, Otis defends, having asked to learn Steve’s business prowess. At this moment, Otis asks Steve a question that’s been bothering him – why hasn’t Steve hired another Black dancer? Steve repeats that it’s just business. Otis extends his hand out to shake Steve’s. “Good luck to you,” he says before pulling his hand back and beginning to walk away. Steve asks where he’s going, telling Otis he’s not fired. “I know,” Otis calls back. “I quit.” As Otis makes to leave, he passes Nick at the bar, who calls him over. Otis reveals that he quit, and Nick offers him a job at the New York location. Otis tells him he needs to do his own thing.
(Erin Simkin/Hulu)
As Otis walks out of Chippendales, he observes a line of men waiting to get in, being told that the club is at capacity. When a man (Malcolm Kelner) at the front of the line gets frustrated with the bouncer (Robert Mukes), he asks if they have a membership card. The men behind them hold up theirs and are allowed to enter. When the guys ask the bouncer how they get one, he says “Well, it’s a process,” repeating what Steve was told at The Palisades Club.
Steve stands outside his office door, looking down at his club. When he goes back inside, Ray follows him, apologizing profusely. “I should’ve seen that there was treachery afoot,” he cries, telling Steve that Otis stabbed him in the back. He likens Steve to a king and everyone else to leeches, getting on his knees, pledging his allegiance, and kissing Steve’s ring.
Next week’s episode of Welcome to Chippendales is called “Leeches,” streaming Tuesday, December 13th, only on Hulu. Here’s the official episode description.
While Nick takes the Big Apple by storm, Steve is back in LA staring down a discrimination lawsuit. Jealousy flares when Nick becomes a media darling–and the face of the brand.