When I was growing up, collage was really in, and an entire wall in my bedroom was devoted to pictures of fit dudes from some of my favorite TV shows I’d ripped out of magazines like YM, Teen People and Seventeen. Tom Welling. Paul Walker. Milo Ventimiglia. Jared Padalecki (yeah I was a Gilmore Girls fan). And of course, my favorite from One Tree Hill Chad Michael Murray. So, imagine my surprise when I woke up this week to the gift that just keeps on giving: a monthly calendar of Chad Michael Murray shirtless in a variety of bowties.
Netflix put together the calendar to promote Chad Michael Murray’s upcoming Christmas movie The Merry Gentlemen, which is headed to the 2024 Netflix schedule on November 20th. It might seem like an attention grab to make Murray look like a veritable Chippendales dancer, but I swear it makes sense given the context of the movie, which we’ll get to in a bit. For now, behold the first day of “Chad Michael Murray-mas.”
The Merry Gentlemen actually does feature the actor as a man who stages an all-male Christmas Revue for a noble reason: to save a theater that is about to go under. That theater will belong to the parents of Britt Robertson’s Ashley, and she’ll recruit Murray’s Luke to help her in her very exciting new venture--one that may also lead to some sparks in her personal life. Michael Gross, Maxwell Caulfield, Hector David Jr., Beth Broderick, Colt Prattes and Marc Anthony Samuel also star.
Chad Michael Murray’s actually done a lot of these sorts of rom-com movies on the Hallmark schedule in recent years, but those have been, in my experience, a little more G-rated. I don’t really hate that Netflix is going a little harder with the eye candy, here, and after the release of the first trailer for The Merry Gentlemen, other fans who grew up with One Tree Hill seemed excited about the prospect, too.
The movie’s already drawn comparisons to Channing Tatum’s male dancer franchise Magic Mike, and if that logic continues, hopefully that means Murray, too, will be back for round 2. (And maybe even a Last Dance third movie. Hey, I’m bullish.) The Merry Gentlemen cast also put in the work, with the actor telling Netflix a few months ago they really did learn how to dance for the new role.
It was something that I’d never done. I said, ‘Oh, this scares the crap out of me. I’ve got to do this.' I made a bunch of phone calls and said, ‘Let’s get in as much rehearsal time as possible.' ...If you’re going to do it, you got to do it right. You got to go all in. All the guys were awesome.
And hey– even if a second or third holiday movie doesn't spur from the loins of this one, I suppose it's always good to learn a new skill. Plus, fans who have stuck with Chad Michael Murray from his One Tree Hill days at least have 12 more months of joy to take from this gig. Thanks, Netflix.
