Secrets Of Playboy - General Discussion

[Shrek]

12 minutes ago, Gharlane said:

Are they still playing new eps? I watched the first of the second season, missed the second, and never heard anything about the show since. 🤔

Yes on Mondays or anytime on the A&E ap.

[Gharlane]

1 hour ago, Shrek said:

Yes on Mondays or anytime on the A&E ap.

That explains why I never see anything. I'm still looking at Tuesdays.

[Sweet-tea]

On 8/1/2023 at 4:31 PM, Andyourlittledog2 said:

Season one seemed to be primarily about interviewing these older women about Playboy in the sixties and seventies and eighties. They moaned, they cried, they fumed. It went on forever.

Season two so far seems to be about interviewing the same women about how they talked about Playboy in season one and how they feel now, plus some new stuff about the same old days.  The last episode aired so far was entirely Sondra Theodore and her daughter talking about the old days and their mother-daughter relationship.  They seem like lovely women but I am not interested in their relationship or how they fell out and got back on the same page re Hef and Playboy. Fifteen minutes is about as much time as I think the world at large needs of that particular story.

No disrespect to these older women but enough already!  Move on!  I have heard from these older women about as much as I ever care to for the rest of my life. I want to hear some more recent stories from another generation. There are stories! There are younger women who have lots of things to tell. Where are they? I cannot listen to these older women rehash the same old shit one more episode. I don't want to continue to examine their lives, hear their traumatic stories, etc. Let's move on already!

It's like the filmmakers don't want to move into more recent territory because they want to pad the hell out of this series and finagle a season three, keeping us on the hook. I have lost all patience.

I had the same impression. This episode about Sonya was repetitive and unnecessary. We heard her full story last season. It's like they just added the daughter so they could put a new angle on the same story. 

Why didn't they look for other former Playmates? There are a ton of them. Surely some of them would've been willing to talk about their experiences in the magazine and at the mansion. 

[Sweet-tea]

I just watched the episode with Shauna Sand, Victoria Zdrok and the former Miss Teen. Wow, Shauna and Victoria had some bad plastic surgery. Both looked awful, especially Victoria. Why do women do this to themselves?

I had a hard time feeling sorry for either of them. They both struck me as big-time opportunists. Also got the feeling we did not get the whole story from Shauna about why here marriage ended. 

Just finished the one about female athletes. I think this season is repetitive. It's the same story. "After I was in Playboy, I got backlash/shamed/fired/treated differently." Lather, rinse, repeat. Maybe that's why not many of people are watching. Not much activity on this forum about it either. 

Edited August 10, 2023 by Sweet-tea

[Andyourlittledog2]

The second to last episode I know I've seen huge parts of it in previous episodes although this was clearly marked new and season two.  I hate how repetitive this series is. The athletes (the last episode) was mostly new to me.

[princelina]

I just don't understand the shock that people would look at you a certain way after you posed naked.  What I find much more shocking, frankly, is when parents are so eager to have their daughters do it!

[RealHousewife]

20 minutes ago, princelina said:

I just don't understand the shock that people would look at you a certain way after you posed naked.  What I find much more shocking, frankly, is when parents are so eager to have their daughters do it!

Agree. I understand being supportive if it's something your daughter really wants to do for whatever reason. When I watched Girls Next Door, I learned how much some girls really grow up glamorizing Playboy and wanting to be Playmates. But it's strange to actually push your daughter down that path. Holly Madison said once you pose nude, people expect you to always be comfortable with nudity. She also said she hopes her daughter doesn't follow in her footsteps and that she can do better. 

[Pi237]

These episodes are basically 15 minutes of information spread out over an hour. I swear, the producers are even making them talk slower. 

[Jack Sampson]

Drug addicts, escorts and porn stars - somehow Playboy must be to blame. 

Victoria Zdrok wanted to be a porn star and escort.  Hef didn't want her to do porn while using the Playboy name so he filed a trademark lawsuit and lost.  Somehow that makes him a control freak.  She won the lawsuit and got to do what she really wanted - she's a 50 year old porn star.  You go queen. 🙄

Shauna Sand - her divorce had nothing to do with her going out with Hef and "nothing happening".  She was banging Lorenzo's 18 year old son from his second marriage.  He talked about it extensively back in 2015.  I guess the show was hoping we had forgotten.

Kari Ann Peniche's problems are all over reality TV.  Girl was a train wreck from waaaay back.  But Playboy was the end of her innocence.

These three make me far less likely to believe anything presented on this show.

Edited August 11, 2023 by Jack Sampson

[Sweet-tea]

3 hours ago, Jack Sampson said:

Drug addicts, escorts and porn stars - somehow Playboy must be to blame. 

Victoria Zdrok wanted to be a porn star and escort.  Hef didn't want her to do porn while using the Playboy name so he filed a trademark lawsuit and lost.  Somehow that makes him a control freak.  She won the lawsuit and got to do what she really wanted - she's a 50 year old porn star.  You go queen. 🙄

Shauna Sand - her divorce had nothing to do with her going out with Hef and "nothing happening".  She was banging Lorenzo's 18 year old son from his second marriage.  He talked about it extensively back in 2015.  I guess the show was hoping we had forgotten.

Kari Ann Peniche's problems are all over reality TV.  Girl was a train wreck from waaaay back.  But Playboy was the end of her innocence.

These three make me far less likely to believe anything presented on this show.

Thanks for the info. I knew there had to be a back story about Shauna Sands and Lorenzo Lamas, but I couldn't remember what happened. I recall some stories about the marriage but not the details. I wasn't buying her vague description of how her marriage ended. 

I don't blame Hef for suing Victoria. He was trying to protect his brand. He always tried to position Playboy as the "classy" nude magazine and several tiers above the others. I guess she was ahead of her time with the website, because now Only Fans is a big deal and perfect for what she wants. 

Why do these women all go for the same look with the blonde extensions, huge breasts, plumped up lips, Botox and overall aging slutty Barbie persona? It is not attractive. Some of the close-ups startled me. 

 

[Pi237]

The interview with the journalist who previously posed for Playboy shouldn’t be doing the interviews. Her shocked and teary reactions, not to mention that fake fall on the floor in shock, were so cringy and made the interview awkward. You can’t be so close to your interview subject. Reminded of every time you see one celebrity interview another. Ick. 

[DXD526]

Quote

Why do these women all go for the same look with the blonde extensions, huge breasts, plumped up lips, Botox and overall aging slutty Barbie persona? It is not attractive. Some of the close-ups startled me. 

Ugh. This. All these women look alike to me. Hef definitely had a 'type'; that, or when he was interested in someone, had her remake herself into his ideal. Either way, they all look alike.

This season has been a disappointment, after an interesting S1. The only truly powerful moment, to me, was in the Playboy on campus episode. One of the commentators noted that, the student who posed for Playboy was derided and dismissed as a slut, while the student who protested Playboy's presence on campus, was derided and dismissed as a humorless prig. When it comes to sex, no matter what opinion a woman has, she can't win. 

Good point. 

[AstridM]

3 hours ago, Sweet-tea said:

Why do these women all go for the same look with the blonde extensions, huge breasts, plumped up lips, Botox and overall aging slutty Barbie persona

Because that’s what Hef wanted. 

[princelina]

I'm a little behind on this.  Just wanted to say that I thought Lorenzo Lamas' ex-wife was full of crap! 😃

[Pi237]

She did have a good point about Playboy dropping them for doing porn, but then selling their pictures to porn sites for their own profit.

it’s not my thing, but I agree- a woman’s body belongs to her and her only. 

[AstridM]

3 hours ago, Pi237 said:

She did have a good point about Playboy dropping them for doing porn, but then selling their pictures to porn sites for their own profit.

it’s not my thing, but I agree- a woman’s body belongs to her and her only. 

[Jack Sampson]

3 hours ago, Pi237 said:

She did have a good point about Playboy dropping them for doing porn, but then selling their pictures to porn sites for their own profit.

it’s not my thing, but I agree- a woman’s body belongs to her and her only. 

They didn't though.  They made an agreement with MindGeek (Manwin at the time, a company that owns a lot of porn sites) to manage the .coms under the Playboy umbrella, they didn't sell the catalog to them...and Hef had nothing to do with the operations at that time.  They basically outsourced MindGeek to handle hosting, transactions and user statistical data.

That whole thing was the new CEO Scott Flanders call and he reversed it 2 years later.  The only "catalog" Playboy actually sold was the Spice TV network and related websites - all non-branded and didn't involve any of the women on the show.

The women have made this claim several times now and it's completely false.  Sondra even claimed that Hef did it personally - as retribution or something.

Again, the showrunners are expecting us not to look into it.

[princelina]

6 hours ago, Pi237 said:

She did have a good point about Playboy dropping them for doing porn, but then selling their pictures to porn sites for their own profit.

it’s not my thing, but I agree- a woman’s body belongs to her and her only. 

A woman's body may belong to her, but that doesn't always mean she gets to do what she wants. If you're a Calvin Klein model, you're probably not supposed to be photographed for publicity spots in Levis.  I'm just a little old retired schoolteacher, but even I understand why Hef wouldn't want his "Playmates" posing for Hustler.

[Sweet-tea]

Just watched the latest two episodes. I'm losing interest in this show. The police officer and military one was the more interesting of the two IMO.

I was not surprised they were fired. I worked for the state troopers in the 90s. I remember what it was like. I was a clerk, not a cop, but I remember the culture. I enjoyed my time there but ran into some trouble when I was writing a column for the local newspaper. One was about the opening of Hooter's in my town, pretty much mocking it and the whole "family restaurant" spin which was utter garbage. My sergeant got a call from the police commissioner about my column. He was not happy. They told me to change my byline, removing the part that said I worked for the troopers. I guess they didn't like that I was critical of the place because many of them went there. But didn't want their name associated with it. 

Interesting that the police officer got the cover but the military woman didn't get. I guess she was trumped by the Battle Star Galactica actress. It was a double standard that the male officer was on the cover of Playgirl and no one cared, even though Playgirl was never as big as Playboy, not even close. 

I didn't remember them featuring the woman in the wheelchair. I don't mean to be harsh but I don't think she was pretty enough for a centerfold. Her face isn't as attractive as the others to me. She was ok looking but seemed more appropriate for one of the compilation issues, not the centerfold. Maybe it was her hairstyle that wasn't flattering. I don't know. 

I have no idea how they're going to get several more episodes out of this season as they're scraping the barrel. And I could do without the reporter woman who was in Playboy. As others have noted, she's too close to the topic and some of her reactions are theatrical, not journalistic. 

I wish they could interview Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy or maybe some of the big '70s centerfolds like Barbi Benton who had a good experience. It would be refreshing to her a different point of view. 

[RealHousewife]

On 8/18/2023 at 6:40 AM, Sweet-tea said:

Just watched the latest two episodes. I'm losing interest in this show. The police officer and military one was the more interesting of the two IMO.

I was not surprised they were fired. I worked for the state troopers in the 90s. I remember what it was like. I was a clerk, not a cop, but I remember the culture. I enjoyed my time there but ran into some trouble when I was writing a column for the local newspaper. One was about the opening of Hooter's in my town, pretty much mocking it and the whole "family restaurant" spin which was utter garbage. My sergeant got a call from the police commissioner about my column. He was not happy. They told me to change my byline, removing the part that said I worked for the troopers. I guess they didn't like that I was critical of the place because many of them went there. But didn't want their name associated with it. 

Interesting that the police officer got the cover but the military woman didn't get. I guess she was trumped by the Battle Star Galactica actress. It was a double standard that the male officer was on the cover of Playgirl and no one cared, even though Playgirl was never as big as Playboy, not even close. 

I didn't remember them featuring the woman in the wheelchair. I don't mean to be harsh but I don't think she was pretty enough for a centerfold. Her face isn't as attractive as the others to me. She was ok looking but seemed more appropriate for one of the compilation issues, not the centerfold. Maybe it was her hairstyle that wasn't flattering. I don't know. 

I have no idea how they're going to get several more episodes out of this season as they're scraping the barrel. And I could do without the reporter woman who was in Playboy. As others have noted, she's too close to the topic and some of her reactions are theatrical, not journalistic. 

I wish they could interview Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy or maybe some of the big '70s centerfolds like Barbi Benton who had a good experience. It would be refreshing to her a different point of view. 

A tit-themed restaurant will never be family-friendly to me, and I've heard Hooters has gotten even more racy in recent times. 

I'd also like to hear what those women have to say as well, along with Brande Roderick, who seems very sweet. She was a Playmate and a girlfriend and always spoke fondly of Hef. I totally believe women like Holly, it's just nice to get the other perspectives. I'm really curious about Barbi in particular, because I haven't heard anything from her since Girls Next Door.

[Shrek]

I see there is now going to be a Secrets Of Penthouse starting on Labor Day. A much less known story so might actually be interesting.

[Gharlane]

Quote

"The Era of the Seven". After a divorce in the late 90s, Hugh Hefner became a bachelor again, and the era of the seven girlfriends emerged. For some, being one of the seven girlfriends was a highly coveted position that was as much a job as it was a relationship. Hef's girlfriends were not only supported by him, but they were used to publicly promote the Playboy brand during lavish events and club outings. But being a girlfriend was not all glitz and glam. The inner-drama that ensued among the girlfriends played out on the public stage.

I finally got around to watching this ep. I found my attention wandering but am not sure if it's because I already knew about The Girls Next Door gals or because they covered this in the first season already. 

[qtpye]

7 hours ago, Gharlane said:

I finally got around to watching this ep. I found my attention wandering but am not sure if it's because I already knew about The Girls Next Door gals or because they covered this in the first season already. 

It feels like they are going to the same well over and over again yet the water has long since run out.

There was not enough (or not different enough) content for a proper second season.

[Gharlane]

13 hours ago, qtpye said:

It feels like they are going to the same well over and over again yet the water has long since run out.

There was not enough (or not different enough) content for a proper second season.

Plus, there are only so many ways you can say that Heffner was a rotten human being.

[qtpye]

11 hours ago, Gharlane said:

Plus, there are only so many ways you can say that Heffner was a rotten human being.

Also, at this point, nothing is really surprising.,

[Gharlane]

On 8/23/2023 at 10:25 AM, Shrek said:

I see there is now going to be a Secrets Of Penthouse starting on Labor Day. A much less known story so might actually be interesting.

Secrets? What secrets? The guy who made that 'zine was a total scumbag and never tried to hide it! 

[AstridM]

6 hours ago, Gharlane said:

Secrets? What secrets? The guy who made that 'zine was a total scumbag and never tried to hide it! 

So just like Hef, then. 

[Shrek]

6 hours ago, Gharlane said:

Secrets? What secrets? The guy who made that 'zine was a total scumbag and never tried to hide it! 

Could say the same about Hef & Playboy but they managed to squeeze 2 seasons out of it. 

I'm sure there won't be any actual secrets just like the so called Playboy secrets but yet here we are and there it will be on Labor Day, no need to shoot the messenger here.

[qtpye]

8 hours ago, Gharlane said:

Secrets? What secrets? The guy who made that 'zine was a total scumbag and never tried to hide it! 

A bigger surprise would be that he was a sweet gentleman who enjoyed making love instead of just tawdry sex.

 

[Sweet-tea]

Is this show done? Haven't seen a new episode in two weeks. 

[Shrek]

18 hours ago, Sweet-tea said:

Is this show done? Haven't seen a new episode in two weeks. 

I think it is as there are no recordings coming up on my DVR.

[Gharlane]

I watched the first ep of Secrets of Hustler last night. Unsurprisingly, Bob Guccione looked filthy and his 'zine was raunchier than Playboy. I found myself bored because there didn't seem to be any secrets being revealed.

On 8/25/2023 at 11:22 AM, AstridM said:

So just like Hef, then. 

Guccione didn't even bother to give it a veneer of classiness, like Hef did. 

On 8/25/2023 at 1:26 PM, qtpye said:

A bigger surprise would be that he was a sweet gentleman who enjoyed making love instead of just tawdry sex.

It seemed like that compared to Secrets of Playboy, but maybe it's because this was the first ep which covered the history of Hustler and how it overtook Playboy(!) and messed up his family. His wife left him because he was spending all his time photographing naked women and his children were expected to be some sort of porno dynasty for his business and were disowned if they didn't.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Gharlane

[Soapy Goddess]

22 hours ago, Gharlane said:

It seemed like that compared to Secrets of Playboy, but maybe it's because this was the first ep which covered the history of Hustler and how it overtook Playboy(!) and messed up his family. His wife left him because he was spending all his time photographing naked women and his children were expected to be some sort of porno dynasty for his business and were disowned if they didn't.

It was the Secrets of Penthouse (not Hustler). Hustler was Larry Flynt's magazine.

I also watched it and found it a lot more interesting than the Playboy Playmates whining about Hefner for a year.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Soapy Goddess

[Sweet-tea]

I watched part of the first episode. Bob seemed depraved to me. Sad what happened to his children while he was living out his middle-aged male fantasy.

I remember Penthouse as being much dirtier than Playboy and Hustler being even dirtier than Penthouse. I had a boyfriend many years ago who read Hustler. He claimed it was for the cartoons. Yeah... sure. 

[Gharlane]

6 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

It was the Secrets of Penthouse (not Hustler). Hustler was Larry Flynt's magazine.

Oops! it's hard to keep track of those porno 'zines. 😀

 

1 hour ago, Sweet-tea said:

I watched part of the first episode. Bob seemed depraved to me. Sad what happened to his children while he was living out his middle-aged male fantasy.

Thank you for articulating it better than me. That's exactly what it seemed like.

 

[Shrek]

The Penthouse series was 100x more interesting than the 2nd Playboy season. He was a narcissist who didn't want to listen to anyone but yes men and seemed to ostracize his children for daring to tell him the truth or try to suggest doing anything different to what he was doing. 

For me it was certainly well worth watching as the story is much less well known than the Playboy story.  

[Soapy Goddess]

15 hours ago, Shrek said:

The Penthouse series was 100x more interesting than the 2nd Playboy season. He was a narcissist who didn't want to listen to anyone but yes men and seemed to ostracize his children for daring to tell him the truth or try to suggest doing anything different to what he was doing. 

For me it was certainly well worth watching as the story is much less well known than the Playboy story.  

I couldn't agree more. I felt sorry for Nick because he wanted his father's approval so badly...and barely got it for all of 10 minutes.

I also think Nick felt he had to make his father proud of him (his remaining son) since Bob Jr and Tony had been disowned. And even though his sister got close to her father, he wound up disappointing her in the end too.

The only loose end was 'where's Tony?'

[Gharlane]

On 9/8/2023 at 2:51 AM, Soapy Goddess said:

I also think Nick felt he had to make his father proud of him (his remaining son) since Bob Jr and Tony had been disowned. And even though his sister got close to her father, he wound up disappointing her in the end too.

The only loose end was 'where's Tony?'

I got the funny feeling we'll find out in a future ep and it will involve suicide. :-(

[Granny58]

I remember being a stupid young 20-something.  So dumb, really.  But I had the sense to know that I didn't want everybody and their uncle looking at my naked parts.  I just don't understand it.  To each their own, but don't act dumbfounded when you get reactions from society.  Yes, you can do what you want but since you live in society then society has rules.  If you're not going to sit naked in your driveway, why expose all in a magazine?  

While I agree that Playboy did have a more artistic, beauty angle, I still consider Hef a pimp and vile.  Making money off their naked bodies.  Charming them to shed their clothes.  The difference is the art.  Otherwise, he's no different than Guccione or Flynt.  

[qtpye]

3 hours ago, Granny58 said:

I remember being a stupid young 20-something.  So dumb, really.  But I had the sense to know that I didn't want everybody and their uncle looking at my naked parts.  I just don't understand it.  To each their own, but don't act dumbfounded when you get reactions from society.  Yes, you can do what you want but since you live in society then society has rules.  If you're not going to sit naked in your driveway, why expose all in a magazine?  

While I agree that Playboy did have a more artistic, beauty angle, I still consider Hef a pimp and vile.  Making money off their naked bodies.  Charming them to shed their clothes.  The difference is the art.  Otherwise, he's no different than Guccione or Flynt.  

I kind of wonder if the girls live in a bubble of pretty privilege and never realize how nasty some people can be about this type of thing.

[MCMLXXVII]

I had no idea there was a season 2, watching now! I remember The Howard Stern Show did Playmate evaluations around this same time, so he always complained that the “Who Wants to be a Playboy Centerfold” idea was stolen from him. I don’t know how I missed this, was it on network TV or Fox Reality?

All these women were stunning and centerfold material, I don’t know what Shallan and Lauren were going on about re: body image. The online commenting culture and slut-shaming was extremely trash at that time, I’m sorry they had to go through that. Glad to see that their lives turned out well overall.
 

 

Edited April 6 by MCMLXXVII

[MCMLXXVII]

I also started Secrets of Penthouse per Hulu recommendation, this is more interesting in a way with the kids being interviewed.

The Guccione family reminds me a bit of The Godfather with all the kids and nieces and nephews working in the business while on summer break from their Ivies, and the subsequent falling out with each son. 

I knew of Bob’s NY mansion but had no idea Penthouse was so profitable and outsold Playboy for a time.