Chad Michael Murray is back! And this time, he’s not just brooding under a tree in the rain—he’s showing off his gym membership in some first-look pics from The Merry Gentlemen! Yes, ladies and gents, the 43-year-old heartthrob is taking his talents to the most unexpected of places: an all-male Christmas-themed revue. It’s like Magic Mike met the North Pole and decided to drop a jingle bell or two.
“We’re really shaking things up,” CMM told Tudum, probably while flexing for dramatic effect. “We took every Christmas movie cliché you’ve ever seen—mistletoe, hot cocoa, awkward family reunions—and we cranked the dial to 11. And then we added dancing. Lots of it.” Because what’s a Christmas movie without a little…uh…festive male choreography?
Chad isn’t riding this sleigh alone though! He’s got some co-stars backing him up, including Britt Robertson, Marla Sokoloff, Hector David Jr., Colt Prattes, and Marc Anthony Samuel. Yes, this is a real cast of human beings, not Santa’s new reindeer lineup.
Now, Chad is diving headfirst into his role as Luke—a “kind, confident, and slightly sarcastic” contractor who moonlights as a dancer. Yes, you read that right. He fixes stuff and busts a move. He’s essentially a Christmas-themed superhero without the cape (but with plenty of flannel). He helps out Britt Robertson’s character, Ashley, who is trying to save her family’s performing venue, because nothing says “Christmas miracle” quite like a DIY contractor turned dancer.
And Chad wasn’t messing around when it came to preparing for this role. He threw himself into rehearsals like a man who just discovered TikTok dance challenges. “It scared the crap out of me,” he confessed. And what do you do when you’re terrified of becoming a dancing Christmas contractor? You call your friends and beg for rehearsal time, obviously.
“If you’re gonna do it, do it right. You gotta go all in,” Chad said, probably while dramatically wiping sweat from his brow. He also mentioned that all the guys in the film had some serious bromance vibes going on, like a Hallmark Christmas card, but with more abs. “We were like a Christmas boy band,” Chad didn’t say, but he could have.
In the plot, former big-city dancer Ashley (Britt Robertson) must save her parents’ small-town performing venue by—wait for it—staging an all-male Christmas revue. As one does during the holiday season. Forget fundraising or GoFundMe pages, the solution is clearly male dancing.
To top it all off, the film boasts a cast that includes Beth Broderick, Michael Gross, and Maxwell Caulfield, proving once again that this movie has more star power than Santa’s sleigh.
Mark your calendars, because The Merry Gentlemen is hitting Netflix on November 20th! It promises more holiday spirit, male camaraderie, and questionable dance moves than you ever knew you needed.
