The Strip

About

Check out The Strip on NZ On Screen.

Melissa is a top corporate lawyer in her mid-thirties. An ultra-dedicated career woman who has climbed the legal ladder rapidly, but whose life is turned upside down when her husband, Glenn leaves her for his gym trainer.

Through the emotional turmoil that follows, Melissa wonders where it all went wrong. She laments that because she got so caught up in her career, she neglected not only her marriage, but also her daughter, Paige (16), who feels almost like a stranger to her these days.

What's more, she seems to have forgotten how to have fun. Where's the girl who shocked her parents with her nude debut in a high school performance of Hair? Who used to sneak out of law tutorials to get stoned? What happened to the uninhibited party animal who caused her future husband to slip a disc while making-out in the back of her Mini?

Looking for solace, Melissa heads to a "Hen Night" to track down her friend, Kathryn. There, with a male strip-o-gram doing his thing, she has an epiphany... Now, the function room of a local restaurant may not be your typical Road to Damascus, but the night has a profound effect on Melissa nevertheless. Because, as the well-oiled stud builds to his pec-popping finale, she notices the women around her...having fun!!! And she finds herself - on the worst day of her life - laughing. Something she felt she'd almost forgotten how to do. In that moment, she makes a decision:

Melissa's going to get out of the corporate rat race and set-up the country's classiest male strip club!

She recalls advising a client of hers that he needed to sell the lease on his girlie strip club.

And it is this sleazy establishment she decides to buy - transforming it from a hang-out for the raincoat brigade - to the Germaine Greer of strip clubs. The series follows Melissa as she tries to balance her new role as a male strip club proprietor, with the demands placed on her as a mother, daughter, friend and lover.

Awards

New Zealand Television Awards - winner in 3 categories, including Best New Programme (People's Choice) - 2003

Technical Specifications

TV Production

Category: Adult Drama

Production Year: 2002

Title: The Strip II

Description: 20 x 1 hour

Outline: This second series follows Strip club owner, Melissa, who has now become an established part of 'The Strip' - the colourful red light district where her club is located.

Production Year: 2001

Title: The Strip I

Description: 20 x 1 hour