A&E Network Launching ‘Secrets of Playboy’ Jan. 24

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

10-hour documentary series covers life inside Hugh Hefner’s empire

A&E Network Secrets of Playboy
Hugh Hefner is at the center of the Playboy story (Image credit: A&E Network)

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.

Also: Frndly TV Adds A+E Channels to Streaming Video Service

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. ■

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.