P-Valley follows the lives of several characters working at a strip club, including Mercedes, who is using the venture as a way to fund her ambition of going to dance school.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Brandee Evans, who plays Mercedes in the show, explained how P-Valley defies stereotypes about strippers.
"It opens our eyes," Evans admitted. "It’s an open book to what really is happening, even for myself. Like, I had my own mindset about what happens in strip clubs. I was completely wrong.
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"Season 1, I remember being like: 'If I ever said anything, I'm coming out right now to say forgive me, I was ignorant to not understanding the culture'."
Discussing the opportunities that stripping can bring women, she added: "I am very glad that it's opening doors to show that these women are more than their bodies, that these women have goals and sometimes it's just what they love to do – there is nothing wrong with that. So I love that."
Evans added that P-Valley accurately portrays stripping and the mechanics behind running it as a business as well as seeing the performs as actors.
"You're able to see what's going on in every facet of the club, from the bartender to the DJ, and all the things. I had no idea you had to do tip-out. I had no idea the way the money works, and what happens in the VIP room, and how that goes.
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"I think that it's showing people that maybe haven't even been to one – because sometimes we judge it, and we haven't even been there – what's really happening. And it's truly a business. It really is just a business.
"These ladies and gentlemen are actors, that's what I learned. They're on the stage performing for you, and then when it goes off, it's like: 'End scene. It's over.' It's what they do: they're performing. It's an art. They're creating a fantasy for you."
P-Valley is available to stream on STARZPLAY in the UK and Starz in the US.
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Photo Director, Hearst UK
Shyvonne Thomas is Digital Spy's Photo Director, looking after Digital Spy's and Hearst's digital brand visuals across the board. She also writes and conducts interviews specialising in the Power shows, anything Beyoncé, family days out, as well as championing content across Black TV shows and movies.
Having started her career as Shopping Assistant for Mother & Baby and Pregnancy and Birth magazines in 2010, Shyvonne moved on to become Picture Assistant at heat magazine in 2012, before joining the Daily Star, Express and OK! websites as Galleries Editor in 2014.
Shyvonne is an NCTJ-accredited journalist and studied an honours degree in Journalism. In 2021, Shyvonne was shortlisted for the PPA Unsung Hero Award. Shyvonne is also a proud mum.
