‘We want the spicy meatballs’: Chad Michael Murray and Britt Robertson spill the tea on stripping, ‘meat cutes,’ and the superior Grinch

When Netflix puts Chad Michael Murray in a Christmas movie, everyone is already feeling merry and bright. When it’s called The Merry Gentlemen and features shirtless men dancing in order to save a beloved town club, who can complain?

Murray and his co-star Britt Robertson, who plays his character Luke’s Broadway dancer love interest Ashley, gave a hilarious and memorable interview to Deadline about the truly fabulous film.

The actors chatted about the heart of the story: Murray’s character not wearing a shirt for the majority of the movie, whether he’s doing his carpenter thing or dancing. Sure, the movie is technically about Ashley choreographing an all-male performance to get her parents out of debt before the clock strikes Jan. 1. This plot point (or something like it) has been done before. But people don’t watch Christmas movies for brand new plot ideas, so it all works out. And, again, we’re all here for Murray.

The actor said the first ideas for the costumes were “much, much tighter with lights,” which made him think about “leg day” and tanning. I’ve seen this holiday masterpiece and can confidently say that as long as the actor didn’t have a shirt on, I don’t think most fans care about what kind of costume he was wearing.

When asked about the Magic Mike comparisons, Murray said there should be “a little spice, little flavor” in a holiday film. Roberston quipped, “We love spicy meatballs. We love them. We want the spicy meatballs.” That led to a discussion of the characters’ meet cute moment when Luke is fixing something on a ladder outside The Rhythm Room and bumps into Ashley. Murray admitted he’s “old” and didn’t know what that rom-com trope was (really?). Robertson, once again proving that she’s going to bring wit and charm to any interview, joked about rebranding the classic plot point to “a meat cute.” She added, “M-E-A-T. I know I didn’t have to spell it, but like, I just want to make sure we were all on the same page.” I will never not think of this when I see or read about this trope.

You can’t talk about a new Netflix Christmas movie (or whatever streaming platform you’re watching this warm and fuzzy content on) without thinking about past holly jolly faves. Robertson also shared that she loves How The Grinch Stole Christmas starring Jim Carrey for its sense of humor, “joy,” and weirdness. She said there may be a bunch of Grinch movies, however, “he’s the only one that matters in my heart.” Many would agree with her.

How did people react to The Merry Gentlemen? Many called it “cute.” One X user preferred Hot Frosty. I’m sorry, at least a woman putting on a dance performance to help her parents out makes more sense than a snowman coming to life! Most X users are celebrating the movie thanks to Murray’s shirtless scenes, and, well, that’s definitely the major selling point here.

Will people watch The Merry Gentlemen every year the way they do Love Actually or The Holiday or The Family Stone? I think so! Murray fans will, at least. It sounds perfect to me. You can enjoy your annual fall rewatch of Gilmore Girls, see Murray as the clueless Tristan DuGray, and then see him as a grown-up carpenter without a shirt. Merry, merry!