Plot Synopsis

Created by Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn, CURSE OF THE CHIPPENDALES is a four-part documentary series that chronicles a Chippendales crime saga -- a story of greed, jealousy and murder-for-hire resulting in one of the most outrageous crimes in American history. The series uses never-before-seen archival footage and photos, a nostalgia-filled soundtrack, and first-person interviews with the former dancers, the women who worshipped them, the original business and creative leads of Chippendales, and the law enforcement officers who worked the case for years. Interviews include: Michael Rapp, Read Scot, Dan Peterson and other original line-up members; the club's lawyer Bruce Nahin; Nick DeNoia's friend and associate producer Candace Mayeron; creative director Eric Gilbert; and retired FBI Special Agent Scott Garriola; along with other key investigators.

When founder Steve Banerjee, an immigrant from India, began the all-male dance revue as a stunt to keep the doors of his struggling Los Angeles bar open in 1979, word spread like wildfire and women lined the streets, hungry to see what carnal delights could be found inside. Chippendales became an instant hit. Men auditioned by the dozens with the promise of wild nights and full pockets if they were chosen to wear the coveted Chippendales cuffs and bowtie uniform. In front of the curtain, Chippendales was a nightclub designed to delight and entice women with the promise of fantasy and seduction under the guise of a male exotic dance show. It provided a place for women to experience the freedoms, previously only enjoyed by men; a place for them to be in control and feel sexually liberated in a safe space. But, behind the curtain lay a dirty secret, one that tormented the business from its humble beginnings as a single nightclub in California to a touring franchise that became a global phenomenon. From arson scares to the love-gone-wrong deaths of its original members, the Chippendales business was as plagued as it was plentiful. As the empire grew, Nick DeNoia joined the team as a choreographer and took the show in an entirely new direction, expanding it to New York and eventually around the globe. Worldwide press attention, endorsement deals and the pressures of becoming too big too fast became a recipe for disaster as internal rivalries grew between key figures in the organization. But no one expected what would happen next, the sudden assassination of one of their own and a manhunt across two continents. Finally, the dirty secrets behind this iconic brand were undressed after so many years.

The entire four-episode series dropped on Friday, September 24, 2021 on discovery+. CURSE OF THE CHIPPENDALES made its linear television debut on Monday, February 21, 2022 from 9-11pm ET/PT, as Investigation Discovery debuted the first two episodes, followed by the final two episodes the next day on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 from 9-11pm ET/PT.