Atlanta, for years, has been dubbed the “strip club capital of the world.” Hip-hop culture has relied on the shapely bodies of women entertaining paying clientele to create hit records and establish their street credibility with fans. Between the strip clubs popularity with hip-hop and mainstream audiences, and the city also collecting the title of ‘Black Hollywood’ over the last decade, it seemed inevitable that there would be a reality show about the strip club phenomenon in Atlanta. While hundreds of treatments have circulated detailing the inner-workings of Atlanta’s infamous strip clubs, none have had the ability to make it to the television screen until Shante Paige created, “Beyond the Pole”.
Perhaps Paige’s reality series pushed past the competition because instead of focusing on the scandalous nature of the club, “Beyond the Pole” focuses on making the women relatable and giving them an opportunity to chase their dreams beyond the pole.
Paige recruited six dancers that claimed to want a new life and paired them with the self-made millionaire and former dancer Stormy Wellington. Wellington’s goal was to empower the women and assist them in finding the businesswoman inside them so that they could finally leave the strip club behind them.
‘Beyond the Pole’ was immediately picked up by the Urban Movie Channel, an app created as a resource for content distribution. The ratings on UMC were so high that a few months later WE tv selected the show for their evening line-up.
“My show ‘Beyond the Pole; airing on two outlets this year, is such a huge accomplishment for me because I am an African-American female executive producer and show runner and it’s through my production company solely. I feel I am pushing the culture forward by facing a taboo subject matter head on. I always wanted ‘BTP’ to air on cable, WE tv and digitally. So now I feel I have the best of both worlds. From the beginning my objective was to humanize these women,” Paige explains.
Partnering with We tv allowed the six dancers stories to connect with an entirely different audience than the show initially had with UMC. Paige’s sense of accomplishment is well-deserved as the show received favorable ratings on WE tv. Shante and her team are currently working on other projects.
