Étoile is not Amy Sherman-Palladino's first foray into the dance world. Her 2012 series Bunheads, which received critical figure acclaim, showed an interest in the art form – an interest that has evolved and matured into her and husband Daniel Sherman-Palladino's latest barnstormer of a series.
The story in itself is fairly simple. Two noted dance companies, Metropolitan Ballet Theatre in New York (which is definitely not a thinly-veiled NYCB, nods to controversies and all) and Le Ballet National in Paris, are struggling financially in a post-Covid, underfunded world. To revitalise interest, they organise a swap; dancers and creatives from one company will move to the other for a season. Each director's decisions of who they want to momentarily poach from one another are targeted, either politically or personally motivated, and the talents they're exchanging aren't all that keen on being hauled across the world to a new city.
Étoile has all the hallmarks of a Sherman-Palladino series: snappy dialogue, strong women and slightly pathetic yet charming men, dysfunctional families, and worlds so well-crafted that you want to just sink into them. In New York we follow Cheyenne Toussaint (Lou de Laâge), a spiky prima ballerina who demands things be done her way and is in a perpetual state of fury. In Paris the transplants are eccentric choreographer Tobias Bell (Gideon Glick), a supremely talented artist with little to no real-world competencies, and Mishi Duplessis (Taïs Vinolo), the daughter of the French cultural minister who has just started building a life for herself in the States.
Bouncing between the two cities, the show is tied together by the relationship between company directors Jack McMillan (Luke Kirby) and Geneviève Lavigne (Charlotte Gainsbourg) as they try to stay in control of their companies and manage clashing personalities.
Perhaps the most notable element of the whole series is the absolute love of dance that shines through. Real respect is given to the art form, something epitomised by the number of notable dance names involved in the project. Dancers including Unity Phelan and Tiler Peck are attached to the show, and the fact that Christopher Wheeldon not only makes a cameo but has choreographed an entirely new piece for the final episode goes a long way to legitimise the show.
Elsewhere, Marguerite Derricks's choreography is stunning, and viewers are able to appreciate it in full thanks to a filming style that resists becoming choppy. Far too often in dance-oriented shows and films, the work is put in second place to close-ups and reaction shots – not here. Dance sequences are often extended and rarely static, providing an idea of each piece in its totality while still building characterisation. It's masterfully done.
Plotlines race on alongside each other, most of them equally engaging. That said, there are a couple that don't quite land. The show begins with Su Su (LaMay Zhang), a young girl who practices ballet at night, following videos that her mother, a cleaner, secretly records during the day. Her passion is noted by Paris étoile Cheyenne, who – in a tough-love kind of way – takes the girl under her wing. Although it serves to give Cheyenne's character another layer and acts as a foundation for later events, this storyline never really takes off. While other plot points remain fairly grounded, this one feels a little too unrealistic, and has minimal emotional resonance as a result. For the most part, though, personal, professional and societal dramas are all explored with enough nuance and depth to keep them all rolling along.
This feels like the first of the Sherman-Palladino duo's shows to really have something to say. The arts are fighting to stay alive, and there are tough decisions to be made that go with that. Here, a private funding boost comes from Crispin (Simon Callow), a morally reprehensible figure responsible for weapons manufacturing, ecological disasters and more. He has a passion for ballet, though, and wants to keep these companies running. The moral dilemma of accepting dirty money is well-presented, as is the whole idea of how art and business interact.
As with The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Gilmore Girls, this is a tightly-written, well-directed, visually engaging and thoroughly enjoyable show. Having already been renewed for a second season, it's clear that – for once – a streaming service is aware that it has a hit on its hands. While some of the later episodes might be a tad saccharine and, at times, a little too neat, there are more than enough cliffhangers to keep viewers on the edge of their seats and waiting for an encore.
Étoile is streaming on Amazon Prime from 24 April.
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