Welcome to Chippendales (1×02) Four Geniuses Early Review

The following is a spoiler-free review of the second episode of the two-episode premiere of Welcome to Chippendales, dropping next Tuesday, on Hulu in the United States and Disney Plus internationally

For our review of the last episode of Welcome to Chippendales, click here.

Getting Chippendales off the ground in the last episode, it is now up to Banerjee to keep it going which would prove to be a challenge in and of itself. However, as the episode title suggests, he wouldn’t have to do it alone as it was all about bringing a team together and as a result, rounding out the cast with a few fun additions. While the ultimate outcome is clear, Four Geniuses was all about positioning. That being said, that journey was not without its moments with the best of course being between Banerjee and De Noia as the duo are key in keeping the club going though that relationship, as many often do, had its ups and downs. Regardless, Najiani and Bartlett make it work and are fun to watch together. The highlight is simply the contrast between both characters as the play off of each other.

Giving his dancers a winning routine, it became clear that it was getting old in the eyes of the clientele therefore Chippendales had to change things up and offer more variety in order to keep customers engaged and coming back. To do so, the dancers needed more routines and De Noia was the only one who could help. Instead of being just a consultant, he would need to be brought in as the in house choreographer. He had demands which included creative control that were ultimately agreed on if only due to an apparent lack of options. Seeing him at work was something to behold as has the current dancers fired and put a new legion of prospective dancers through rehearsals.

Once De Noia found his dancers, they were off to a blaring start as they left the female clientele in a frenzy as the now routines continued to raise the bar. Though out of the woodwork came a savant yet socially-awkward accountant named Irene (Annaleigh Ashford) for whom Banerjee hit it off with right away perhaps because he saw part of himself in her. The chemistry between Ashford and Najiani was strong thus making for a relatable dynamic that may or may not evolve into something more. Meanwhile, the line between the business side and the creative side started to blur as De Noia found himself stuck in the middle. However, he found himself a rambunctious costume designer named Denise (Juliette Lewis) who offered her services to the club. Her idea of breakaway pants looked to be a game changer and single-handedly got her the job. Showing off plenty of energy throughout the episode, Lewis’ energy is only a plus.

With the gang now all together, the sky is the limit as far as the club is concerned. Nanjiani, Bartlett, Ashford, and Lewis are a fun foursome and it will be interesting to see where they go from here. The series at its heart is the show behind the show, however, that part of the series still needs some work in finding that right balance. It’s only been two episodes so far but the promise is there.

still courtesy of Hulu

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.