Chad Michael Murray is shirtless dancer in Christmas movie first look

Chad Michael Murray will strip down to save Christmas in his new movie, The Merry Gentlemen.

The upcoming Netflix flick, penned by Full House alum Marla Sokoloff, is more “hot and bothered” than your average holiday pic, at least according to Murray. While it certainly includes all the usual festive hallmarks — heartwarming romance in the trappings of a quaint town — viewers should also expect enough steamy hip thrusting to impress Magic Mike himself.

“We got to change things up a little bit and push the envelope,” Murray said of the movie while speaking with Netflix site Tudum. “We take a lot of the tropes that have been created for this particular genre and poke fun at them in such a tasteful way.”

The Merry Gentlemen stars Britt Robertson as former big-city dancer Ashley, who travels home for the holidays only to discover that her parents’ small-town performance venue is in big trouble. To save the day, she stages an all-male Christmas-themed revue — which is how she crosses paths with Murray’s Luke, a sarcastic contractor who ends up doing his part to rescue the Rhythm Room.

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As one of the movie’s dashing male performers, Murray promises an experience that’s as cozy as it is sexy. “It’s a fine line to thread a Christmas movie and strippers and to make it work, right?” he told PEOPLE. “It’s not the first thing that comes to your mind when you think Christmas. So for us, it was really making sure that the tone’s right.”

“This isn’t your standard, formatted genre piece for the holidays,” he added. “We’re doing a male dance revue, so it’s something to get a little hot and bothered under the collar, which is great, but the romance is there, the sparks are flying. We’ve got some great comedy beats in there that you’re going to laugh out loud [to].”

As for how Murray prepared to take center stage while showing off his sultry moves? The One Tree Hill alum made sure to schedule plenty of rehearsal time to quell his nerves.

“It was something that I’d never done,” he admitted. “I said, ‘Oh, this scares the crap out of me. I’ve got to do this.’ I made a bunch of phone calls and said, ‘Let’s get in as much rehearsal time as possible.'”

Though he said the physical demands for the film were “very intense,” Murray didn’t dare consider passing up the opportunity. Said the actor, “I love a good challenge.”

The Merry Gentlemen, from Secret Obsession and Love Accidentally director Peter Sullivan, hits Netflix on Nov. 20.