Netflix users are being reassured by the lead star of a new chart-topping Christmas movie.
New release The Merry Gentlemen has shot straight to the top of the streaming service’s most-watched list since its premiere on Wednesday (20 November) – and is leaving thousands of viewers hot under the collar.
Described as a festive version of Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike franchise, the film follows Ashley (Britt Robertson), a Broadway dancer who stages a Christmas-themed revue in small-town America led by a male stripper named Luke (Chad Michael Murray).
Netflix has found a niche in the release of Christmas films over the past few years and, when The Merry Gentlemen’s trailer was first released, there was some concern about whether this one would be suitable for families to watch together due to the relentless amount of scenes involving a nude Murray.
However, the One Tree Hill and Gilmore Girls star is reassuring those wanting to watch the film about its content.
“It’s not gratuitous by any means,” he told Variety, adding: “We threaded the needle on that film. You go too far and you’re making one movie; you go too under, and it doesn’t work at all.
“It’s in the perfect space where people won’t feel wrong having it on the TV in the background. It’s the sweet spot and I’m really proud of that.”
For Murray’s many shirtless scenes, he underwent an extensive regime, which he said “was a combination of everything from cardio to cyro to vitamins, supplements and clean eating”.
He said his muscular co-star Cole Prattes, who plays Troy, taught him how to do “a third of the work and get better results”.
The Merry Gentlemen is directed by Peter Sullivan, who co-wrote the film alongside Jeffrey Schenck and Marla Sokoloff.
Its releases comes hot on the heels of another Christmas film, Hot Frosty, which stars Mean Girls star Lacey Chabert and Schitt’s Creek’s Dustin Milligan.
While the streaming service’s christmas films are usually branded guilty pleasures, Hot Frosty is the rare one that viewers are saying is actually worthy of your time.
Hot Frosty follows a widow whose life is altered when she magically brings a snowman to life. Both films are available to stream on Netflix now.
