Thanks to the success of 鈥淭he Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,鈥 creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino are able to do just about anything they鈥檇 like.
And that, in a nutshell, is 鈥淓toile,鈥 a series about the inner workings of two ballet companies, one in New York and one in Paris听鈥 a heady proposition if there was one. Fearing financial losses if they don鈥檛 do something surprising, the companies鈥 leaders agree to a talent swap. How well those shifts go is largely the head of the pin 鈥淓toile鈥 dances on.
Tobias (Gideon Glick) and Jack (Luke Kirby), left, watch as dancers go through their paces in "Etoile."
While the first couple of episodes play out like 鈥淐enter Stage,鈥 鈥淔ame鈥 and any number of behind-the-scenes dance films, 鈥淓toile鈥 warms up and becomes a more fascinating look at the challenges artistic folks face听鈥 particularly in light of billionaires hoping to buy their way into the business like some 21st century Medicis.
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Luke Kirby plays the leader of a New York ballet company that's facing challenges in "Etoile."听
The Palladinos still use some of the tricks they plied in series like 鈥淏unheads鈥 and 鈥淢rs. Maisel,鈥 but they find an interesting niche with Gideon Glick as an offbeat choreographer and Lou de Laage as an outspoken ballerina. They鈥檙e part of the switch and hardly ready to 鈥減lay nice鈥 with the folks in their new homes.
That means plenty of angst for Jack听(the always-good Luke Kirby) and Genevieve (Charlotte Gainsbourg), the two companies鈥 heads. They鈥檙e constantly swimming up a murky stream, trying to maintain the tradition that is ballet without completely selling out to someone who wants etched Champagne flutes as souvenirs.
Cheyenne (Lou de La芒ge) and Jack (Luke Kirby) square off in "Etoile."
While Jack has problems with the mouthy Cheyenne Touissant (de Laage), Genevieve has to reconcile bringing back a ballerina she released some time earlier. Mom and dad, it seems, are big benefactors. The company, meanwhile, believes she鈥檚 just another 鈥渘ee-po baby.鈥
Genev铆eve (Charlotte Gainsbourg) has to deal with two continents of trouble in "Etoile."
In听the course of听setting boundaries, the show鈥檚 writers use way too much French (sorry, but they do) but manage some very funny lines that play on both levels. When her dancers become a little too much to handle, Genevieve tosses out, 鈥淲ho wants free cigarettes?鈥
That kind of surprise (in addition to a charming performance by David Haig as Jack鈥檚 guiding light) suggests there鈥檚 a concept worth saving.
鈥淓toile鈥 (which means 鈥渟tar鈥 in French) wants to be more high-brow than it should. The dances are beautiful, but the characters shouldn鈥檛 have to walk in others鈥 toe shoes. We鈥檝e seen the petulance, the bickering, the histrionics before.
Simon Callow plays the rich benefactor who's becoming a thorn in ballet's side in "Etoile." Lou de Laage is a star dancer with issues.听
Now, we need the storytelling. And听that鈥檚 where the series gets to by the sixth episode. Then, we鈥檙e familiar with the characters, we have buy-in with the plots and we understand where this is headed. An episode about the need to do yet another 鈥淣utcracker鈥 scratches at the surface of what it could be.
As much as he鈥檚 supposed to be the thorn in ballet鈥檚 slipper, Simon Callow turns up too often as the benefactor. He could be 鈥渄irected鈥 but Jack just wants him out听鈥 a non-starter considering the old money has already dried up. How he finesses him would be a better goal for the next season.
And the cast? It鈥檚 too large for something that鈥檚 already unwieldy. Eliminating the side stories (did we need Jack鈥檚 sister in this?) could put the focus where it needs to be: creating art in a bankrupt society.
Borrowing a page from Amy and Dan鈥檚 playbook, 鈥淓toile鈥 could show us how creatives get billionaires to back their vanity projects. There鈥檚 a process. They鈥檙e just not letting on.
鈥淓toile鈥 is now airing on Prime.
