A quick, quirky, colourful, and chaotic whirlwind of Palladino magic, TV Drama, Étoile, premiered on Amazon Prime this April and, to the dismay of many fans, will not be getting its (preordered!) Season Two.
A transatlantic union of two of the most iconic cities—New York and Paris— dusted with the fierce attitude, cynicism, and charisma expected of New Yorkers and Parisians, makes for an enthralling, witty, and tumultuous watch. And the show’s other key element, enriching these layers of humorous ferocity? Ballet.
When first-class Ballet schools in both cities experience dwindling audiences and a loss of reputation, New Yorker Jack (Luke Kirby) and Parisian Genevieve (Charlotte Gainsbourg) agree to switch some of their star performers in order to rejuvenate their institutions. Standout storylines and characters (while all equally engaging and entertaining) include the bubbling creative partnership and simmering romance between passionate outcast Gabin (Ivan du Pontavice) and eccentric choreographer Tobias (Gideon Glick), while every second of screen time belonging to feisty ballet dancer Cheyenne (Lou de Laâge) is hilarious, brilliant, and utterly watchable.
The unpredictable accumulation of a love triangle between Jack, Genevieve, and Cheyenne, wherein both possible partnerships seem equally ill-fated, has captured the hearts of viewers, some preferring the palpable, bickering chemistry between Jack and Cheyenne, others enjoying the reignited love of Jack and Genevieve.
With script and direction by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino (Gilmore Girls, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel), the show couldn’t be any more destined for success; why then, was their second season cancelled?
Despite this initial two-season order, viewers can relinquish hope of a season two due to budgetary concerns of cost versus performance. With the show supposedly not meeting expectations on the platform Amazon Prime Video, there will be no second season. The show was far from “a flop”, however, receiving an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Cinematography for a Series”, and a recent Emmy win for “Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming”, whilst also successfully engaging fans. Floods of Étoile edits have been clogging up my TikTok “For You” page! It seems the show just wasn’t successful “enough”. Previous head of Amazon MGM Studios, Jennifer Salke, was Étoile‘s biggest production supporter; Salke’s step-back from the role, combined with the show’s underwhelming viewership, seems to have caused this cancellation.
I, nonetheless, implore new viewers to experience the television delight Étoile: the inevitable heartbreak of knowing there won’t be more to come can be overshadowed by relishing in every step of the hilarious, vivacious, and sensational journey.
“Ballet Shoes” by Megyarsh is licensed under CC BY 2.0.