If you miss The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Prime Video has a brand new show from the same creator that's a must-watch!
Prime Video has been known for some big shows, although not as much of an awards darling as other streamers. A major exception was The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, the writer/producer behind the beloved The WB/The CW dramedy Gilmore Girls, the series focused on Midge Maisel, a 1950s housewife who, after discovering her husband’s cheating, embarks on a career as a stand-up comic.
The show was a huge success not just with audiences but critics as well. It’s the most honored Prime Video original show with multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG award wins for stars Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, and Tony Shalhoub. Sherman-Palladino herself earned Emmys for Best Comedy Series and her writing.
Maisel is loved for showing Sherman-Palladino’s wonderful wit, whip-sharp dialogue and a fantastic bevy of actors. Its five-season run was a strong conclusion to a fine show. Now, Sherman-Palladino has a worthy follow-up in Étoile!
Why you should watch Étoile
The series may remind fans of Sherman-Palladino’s too-short-lived ABC Family series Bunheads. That 2012-13 show starred Sutton Foster as a dancer turned Vegas showgirl who ends up teaching a school of ballerinas in a quirky California town. It was a love letter to dance that carried the writer’s usual sharp wit.
Étoile sets the tone by showcasing how ballet was deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In New York, director Jack (Luke Kirby) is having problems with poor audiences and productions. He’s approached by his ex-lover Geneviève (Charlotte Gainsbourg), whose Paris ballet company is in the same boat. In desperation, the pair make a daring decision: Like a baseball team, they’ll trade their top stars and try to spark up their productions.
The title refers to the Paris ballet star, Cheyenne (Lou de Laâge), whose intensity and obsession with being the best scares everyone. Meanwhile, visionary but quirky American choreographer Tobias (Gideon Glick) heads to Paris, where his pioneering ways clash with classic French dancing (yes, they make an Emily in Paris joke).
The series deserves kudos for showcasing how demanding ballet is as the dancers undergo training, performance and a mental and physical toll that puts pro athletes to shame. This could have been a seedy look at the underbelly of the form, but it’s Sherman-Palladino, so it’s all mixed with fantastic humor and a cast able to produce laugh-out-loud lines with their delivery.
Like any Sherman-Palladino series, the cast is packed with a bevy of characters (many real dancers) with the best being billionaire sponsor, Crispin Shamblee (Simon Callow), who steals every scene as a man whose silly exterior hides a darker side. It’s hard to single out the rest, but the show does a great job of giving each character their due.
Also appealing to Maisel fans is a mother-daughter conflict via Mishi Duplessis (Taïs Vinolo), who became a star in New York and is not happy to return to Paris, where her politician mother dislikes her career choices. The banter between Jack and Charlotte is also wonderful for showcasing the same romantic tensions of other shows.
At the end of the day, if you loved Maisel or Gilmore, then Étoile is a must-watch. From the vibrant cast to hilarious jokes to the passion for ballet, it’s got all the elements of other Sherman-Palladino series. The fact it’s already been renewed for a second season shows it has fans in big places and more than worth a watch.
Étoile is now streaming on Prime Video.