Étoile

Matt Roush says...

A love for dance flows throughout this passion project from Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel auteurs Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino. Set in the rarefied world of culture capitals New York City (Lincoln Center, to be precise) and Paris, it’s the story of two ballet companies on either side of The Pond who decide to swap talent in a risky cross-cultural shakeup. Luke Kirby (Emmy winner as Mrs. Maisel‘s Lenny Bruce) stars as the harried executive in charge of the New York company, with Charlotte Gainsbourg his frenetic French counterpart. They massage egos daily, none more terrifying than that of the étoile (French for “star”) ballerina diva Cheyenne (the sensational Lou de Laâge) or as exasperating as the loose-cannon choreographer Tobias (Maisel‘s Gideon Glick). When tormented artists are shown in rehearsal and performance, it’s all quite dazzling. But by sacrificing charm for labored histrionics, Étoile‘s star shines only sporadically. All eight episodes drop in an ill-advised too-much-at-once-is-too-much binge. (See the full review.)

What's Worth Watching (Apr 24)