TV Review: ‘Étoile’

in Movie

Reading Time: 7 mins read

Charlotte Gainsbourg as Geneviève Lavigne in ‘Étoile’. Credit: Philippe Antonello/Prime Video.

‘Étoile’ Season 1 receives 7.5 out of 10 stars.

Landing on Prime Video with all eight episodes of its first season, ‘Étoile’ is the latest series from Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, responsible for shows such as ‘Gilmore Girls’ and ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’

Yet it shares more in common with one of their lesser known projects, ‘Bunheads,’ which starred Sutton Foster as a Las Vegas showgirl who marries someone on a whim and ends up in their small home town, working with her mother-in-law at a ballet school. In ‘Étoile’s case, however, the setting is much grander, the stakes are higher and with a two-season order, its fate is much less dramatic.

Does ‘Étoile’ Season 1 perform?

(L to R) Dance performance from Etoile and Gideon Glick in ‘Étoile’. Credit: Philippe Antonello/Prime Video.

Amy Sherman-Palladino has made no secret of her love for, and connection to, ballet. She trained as a dancer in her youth and was considering a career in the medium before TV writing and producing took over her life.

So with the success of ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ and her overall deal at Amazon, she and husband/creative partner Dan Palladino have gone all in on the new series, filling it with their usual rat-a-tat screwball comedy dialogue, plenty of crackling comebacks and enough drama to cross the Atlantic and travel between both New York and Paris.

And given their love for dancing, it’s naturally also a showcase for some truly superb artists, choreographers and others. Depending on your own appreciation for the wild world of creative types and the giant egos in the ballet sphere, chances are this will be your next binge watch.

Script and Direction

(L to R) Taïs Vinolo as Mishi Duplessis and Gideon Glick as Tobias Bell in ‘Étoile’. Credit: Philippe Antonello/Prime Video.

The Sherman-Palladino duo are known, as we said before, for their script work, and here, gifted with a cast that can pull it off (including one who learned English for the role and manages to pull off the quickfire chat), their words are the highlight.

With a much-expanded canvas (previous shows were largely set in one locale, though ‘Mrs. Maisel’ had New York as its playground and sent its title character on tour in one season), the transatlantic storyline of two famous ballet companies trading stars to bolster both their futures offers ripe opportunities to explore an even wider group of characters.

The creative pair has not lost their touch for creating compelling roles and finding entertaining ways into the story, leaning on the funny but also adding plenty of heart as the various struggles and romances come into play.

And with just eight episodes here, they handle the lion’s share of directorial duties, finding interesting ways to shoot both the big performances that anchor a couple of episodes but also focusing on the people behind the scenes.

The different cities’ settings provide appealing backdrops for the various story machinations.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Yanic Truesdale as Raphaël Marchand and Charlotte Gainsbourg as Geneviève Lavigne in ‘Étoile’. Credit: Philippe Antonello/Prime Video.

The series’ cast is a mixture of players who have worked with the creators before, some acting veterans and interesting people who American audiences might not be so familiar with.

Luke Kirby, who was so good in a supporting role as Lenny Bruce on ‘Maisel’ here shoulders the lead role of Jack McMillan, the harried head of the New York Met ballet company. His family legacy is tied to the building and those who learn to dance within its walls, and he’s endlessly trying to figure out how to manage the gargantuan egos around him (his own is not exactly tiny).

Kirby is fantastic in the role, a mixture of stressed live wire and head cheerleader for the company, and he’s our guide into the world (his mother is played to perfection in a supporting turn from ‘Gilmore Girls’ Kelly Bishop).

Charlotte Gainsbourg is Geneviève Lavigne, Jack’s opposite number in Paris, who has her own issues to deal with. Gainsbourg brings energy and brio to the role, and her chemistry with Kirby is palpable.

Lou de Laâge as Cheyenne Toussaint in ‘Étoile’. Credit: Philippe Antonello/Prime Video.

Lou de Laâge provides a bubble of French sarcasm as ace dancer Cheyenne Toussaint, the lead at the Paris company who is traded for a season to New York. She’s a tornado in a tutu (though rarely seen in one, since her dance costumes are much more subtle) and steals a number of the season’s best scenes, including one where she scares off prospective male dance partners by regaling them with a shocking story about her mother cutting off men’s genitals.

Elsewhere, there are reliable, funny turns from veteran British actors Simon Callow (as Crispin Shamblee, the billionaire of questionable ethics who funds the big trade) and fellow cast member from 1994 rom-com classic ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ David Haig as Nicholas Leutwylek, Jack’s hard-living, jovial creative director whose health and partying ways are a constant source of comedy.

And ‘Gilmore Girls’ fans will be happy to see the return of Yanic “Michel” Truesdale as Geneviève’s right hand man Raphaël Marchand. And yes, he displays nuclear levels of sarcasm himself at times.

Final Thoughts

Luke Kirby as Jack McMillan in ‘Étoile’. Credit: Philippe Antonello/Prime Video.

‘Étoile’ should instantly delight fans of the Sherman-Palladino-verse, and at a time when the arts are under attack in funding terms, it’s nice to celebrate the power of music and dance.

And with another season already commissioned, there’s more to look forward to, and hopefully it’ll undo one of the few mistakes of the season, a final episode plot twist that doesn’t quite make sense.

“The stage is set.”

TV-141 SeasonsApril 24th, 2025

What’s the plot of ‘Étoile’ Season 1?

Set in New York City and Paris, the eight-episode ‘Étoile’ follows the dancers and artistic staff of two world-renowned ballet companies, as they embark on an ambitious gambit to save their storied institutions by swapping their most talented stars.