Watch American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story

American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story is a docudrama series created by Amazon in 2017. It tells the story of Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, and his remarkable journey from a young man with limited resources to a global icon of pop culture. The show features Matt Whelan as the adult Hefner, Emmett Skilton as a younger version, and Adam Jonas Segaller as Hugh's father.

The series opens with Hugh Hefner's childhood in Chicago in the 1930s. It quickly becomes clear that Hefner's upbringing was far from ordinary. His parents were devout Methodists, and his father was a stern disciplinarian who worked as an accountant. Hefner, on the other hand, was a curious and creative child, who showed an early interest in the female form.

As Hugh grows up, he becomes more and more interested in sex and sexuality. He works for a time as a copywriter at Esquire magazine, but he eventually leaves to start his own publication. The first issue of Playboy is released in December 1953, and it features Marilyn Monroe on the cover. The magazine is an instant success, and Hefner becomes a household name.

Over the course of the series, we see Hugh navigate the ups and downs of his personal and professional life. He becomes a fixture of Sixties counterculture, and he is known for his epic parties at the Playboy Mansion. However, he also faces criticism from feminists and religious groups, who see Playboy as exploitative and immoral. And his own personal life is marked by multiple marriages, affairs, and financial difficulties.

American Playboy is told through a mixture of scripted scenes and documentary-style interviews with real people who knew Hefner. The show also features archival footage and photographs from Hefner's life. This approach gives the series a unique blend of fact and fiction, and it allows viewers to get a sense of the real Hugh Hefner behind the public persona.

One of the standout features of American Playboy is the attention to detail in the set and costume design. The series is set over several decades, and the production team has done an outstanding job of recreating the look and feel of each era. The show's soundtrack is also a highlight, featuring music from the Sixties and Seventies that perfectly captures the mood of the time.

Despite its subject matter, American Playboy is not a salacious or sensationalist show. It presents a nuanced and complex portrait of Hugh Hefner, showing both his admirable qualities and his less than admirable ones. The series also touches on important social and cultural issues, such as the sexual revolution, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam war.

Overall, American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story is an engaging and well-crafted series that will appeal to a wide range of viewers. Whether you're a fan of Playboy magazine or just interested in the social and cultural history of the United States, this show is definitely worth a watch.

American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story is a series that ran for 1 seasons (10 episodes) between April 7, 2017 and on Amazon