Étoile

“It is the sort of series you can enjoy if you do follow ballet, and also if you don’t. It doesn’t take itself or the art form too seriously, although the dancing bits are beautiful to watch. The script, like the dancers, is mostly light-footed and waspish — as you might expect from the writer who brought us The Marvellous Mrs Maisel. As a knowing piece of drama about the bloodied feet, the backbiting, the vaping, the meltdowns and the cynicism behind staging a ballet, it is fun and entertaining.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino make a triumphant return to the world of barres and no-holds-barred ambition with the delightfully nimble Étoile. The result is the polar opposite of Black Swan’s overheated psychodrama: a refreshingly authentic, nuts-and-bolts portrait of dance life. I just wish there were more, and longer, performances, since each one demonstrates, more powerfully than the hyper-articulate dialogue ever could, the soul-stirring thrill of dance.”
Marianka Swain, The Telegraph

“There is so much going on in Étoile that, at times, it might be better served played at a slower tempo, with more focus on the humanity. When it has room to breathe, Étoile can be quite beautiful. Amazon Prime has afforded the project the budget required to mount this on a vast and beautiful stage. The ballet sequences are exquisite, and the interposition of actors into the dance performances, seamless.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent

“Étoile is … fine. It passes the time. But every person seems to be acting in a slightly different show from everyone else, and tonally it falls between any and every possible stool. There is a scattering of jokes per episode but it is not funny enough to be a comedy, not dramatic enough to be a drama or frothy enough to be a soap.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian