A&E explores the mythology behind the Playboy empire as part of a new docuseries debuting January 24.

The 10-part series, Secrets of Playboy, examines life inside Playboy through interviews with Playmates, employees at all levels of the organization and other insiders, according to the network. The series delves into the complex world that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner created, and examines its far-reaching consequences on our culture’s view of power and sexuality. 

Secrets of Playboy director Alexandra Dean said the series – in development for two years – offers a different narrative about the Playboy empire and Hefner that most people don’t know and, in some instances, don’t necessarily want to hear about.

Here’s what Dean and A&E want you to know about Secrets of Playboy.

The series examines Playboy's cultural legacy through a modern day lens:  “I'm really looking for people to re-evaluate the legacy of Playboy in our culture. I think it's time for us to have another look, and I think that the way we do that is we listen to the women for the first time. The series does talk about the good stuff Playboy did, how progressive it was and how it championed women and people of color. It did liberate women in many ways to have fun with their sexuality, but it also had this dark underbelly that we as observers at the time didn't look at. We gave Playboy a pass because we wanted the mansion to be this Xanadu that we dreamed about.” 

The series raises questions about the complex life of Hugh Hefner: “You'll see a side to Hugh Hefner that he kept very well hidden; only people who were very, very intimate with him would see it. Hugh Hefner was a larger than life persona and he shaped who we thought was hot in our culture for 50 years, and he shaped what we thought was free and powerful sexuality for women. So he matters both for men and women. I think people would be really shocked at how his sexual appetites manifested, and what he found sexy. I think people would be really shocked to hear how he seemed to really feel about women.” 

Insider interviews offer a rare look into the Playboy culture: People were really, really scared to speak about Playboy. People who wanted to talk positively about Playboy were ready to talk all day, but people who wanted to talk about some of the more complicated experiences they’d had or the really bad stuff that had happened felt like they might have been in danger by doing so. I think that what people will find exciting about this series is that people who weigh in are real insiders. We talked to Hefner's main girlfriend when he was at the height of his powers in the seventies, and when he was really inventing who he would become with the multiple girlfriends and everything. She takes us back to the origin story of how Hef became Hef, and she also kind of takes us into the heart of darkness. ■   

A&E Network said it will premiere its documentary series Secrets of Playboy on Jan. 24.

Four years after founder Hugh Hefner’s death, the 10-hour series take an inside look at life inside the Playboy empire, based on interviews with insiders, colleagues, Playmates and employees from all levels of the company.

Director Alexandra Dean also uses archival footage to tell the tale of Hefner’s role in the sexual revolution and dig into stories about sexual assualt, drug abuse, prostitution, suicide and murder that swirled around Playboy.

Among those featured in the series are former Hefner girlfriends Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Sondra Theodore; former Playmates Rebekka Armstrong, Susie Krabacher, Dona Spier, Tylyn John and Cristy Thom and Hefners executive assistant Lisa Loving Barrett, butler Mitch Rosen and valet Stefan Tetenbaum.

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Episodes of Secrets of Playboy will be available on demand on the A&E app and at aetv.com.

Secrets of Playboy is produced by Industrial Media’s The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC) for A&E Network. IPC’s Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Matt Shanfield, and Erin Gamble serve as executive producers along with Alexandra Dean who is the showrunner and director of the series. The series is co-directed by Arlene Nelson. Elaine Frontain Bryant, Brad Abramson, and Dolores Gavin serve as executive producers for A&E. 

A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for Secrets of Playboy. ■

A&E will take a look into the world of Hugh Hefner’s Playboy empire in a new documentary series set to debut in 2022, the network announced Tuesday during A+E Networks' TCA Summer Press Tour session.

The 10-part series, Secrets of Playboy, will explore the hidden truths behind the fable and philosophy of the Playboy empire through a modern-day lens, said network officials. The series features interviews with Hefner’s former personal valet Stefan Tetenbaum, the director of Playmate Promotions Miki Garcia, as well as members of Hefner’s staff and inner circle.

“The fantasy world of Playboy has been shrouded in secrecy for decades and we are proud to lift the veil on these long-hidden stories,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive VP and head of programming for A&E in a statement. “Breaking down barriers and exposing the truth, Secrets of Playboy is a masterful example of brave storytelling that takes an unflinching look at the personal affects of Hugh Hefner’s empire, while also exploring his legacy’s larger influence on our society and modern-day views of sexuality.”

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Not the White House's problem. That was basically the Justice Department's answer to Playboy reporter and CNN analyst Brian Karem, according to a letter to his lawyers dated April 5. 

Karem had complained that he and other journalists were being excluded from daily White House COVID-19 press conferences while a reporter from One American News (OAN) Network (Chanel Rion) was allowed in, saying that the White House press secretary was engaging in content- and viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. 

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Karem had his hard passed revoked by the White House last summer but eventually returned at a court's directive after he sued President Trump and White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. He said his treatment by the press office also violated that court directive.  

But in a letter to Karem's attorney, Ashley Cheung, an attorney in the civil division at the Justice Department, said that it was Justice's understanding that while the Press Briefing Room was White House property, by custom the White House correspondents association determines seating, and that it was WHCA's new virus-related social distancing guidelines--the three-empty-chairs distance between reporters severely cuts down on capacity--that was the culprit, and which was adopted solely by the WHCA.  

"To the extent Mr. Karem has been excluded from the seating rotations, he should direct his complaints to the WHCA, not to the Press Secretary, who has merely acquiesced in this practice," Cheung wrote, according to a copy of the letter.  

Cheung pointed out that the OAN reporter had been invited by the press secretary, while "nothing in the First Amendment or the Due Process Clause requires the White House Press Secretary to extend a personal invitation to Mr. Karem to be her guest." 

As to violating the judge's order, she said the hard pass has been fully restored with "full privileges" and that any restrictions are not based on any actions of the press secretary.