Étoile, a new series from the creator ofGilmore Girls, receives several first-look images and a release date on Prime Video. Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino,Gilmore Girlsaired on The WB before moving to The CW for its final season, following a single mother,Lorelai (Lauren Graham), and her daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), in the quaint town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Afterward, Sherman-Palladino also created Prime Video’sThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which won a whopping 22 Emmys before ending in 2023.
Now, the first look at Amy Sherman-Palladino’s new show has been revealed. ViaVanity Fair,a total of 10 first-look images fromÉtoilewere revealed, in addition to its April 24 release date, with the entire eight-episode season dropping at once. Check out the images in the slideshow below:
What Étoile’s First-Look Images Mean For The Show
What Is Amy Sherman-Palladino’s New Show About & Who Stars?
The French word for star,Étoilefollows the dancers and artistic teams behind two of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world, one in New York and the other in Paris, as they embark on a bold initiative to save their storied institutions by swapping their most talented stars. The first-look images, as seen in the slideshow above, offer a glimpse at some of those dancers in action and the key figures working behind the scenes of the prestigious ballet companies.
Every Gilmore Girls Actor In The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 4 is adding more Gilmore Girls cast members. Here are all the shared cast members from Amy Sherman-Palladino’s shows.
Charlotte Gainsbourg and Luke Kirby, who won an Emmy for his guest role asLenny Bruce inThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,lead the cast ofÉtoile. They are joined by Gideon Glick, who also appeared inThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselas the quirky magician Alfie Zielenski, and Yanic Truesdale, who played the grumpy French concierge at Lorelai’s inn inGilmore Girls. Lou de Laâge, David Alvarez, Ivan du Pontavice, Taïs Vinolo, David Haig, and Simon Callow also star in recurring roles.
Our Take On Étoile’s First-Look Images
It’s Actually Amy Sherman-Palladino’s Second Ballet-Centric Series
Étoileis actually Amy Sherman-Palladino’s second ballet-centricseries afterBunheads, which follows a Las Vegas showgirl who ends up teaching at a ballet school. The series aired for only one season on ABC Family in 2012-2013 before being canceled.Étoilewon’t suffer that same fate sincePrime Video has already given it a two-season order. However,Étoileis very much a tribute to the fading art form of ballet, which might make it inherently difficult for it to garner a large audience. WhetherÉtoileends up becoming a well-loved but short-lived show likeBunheadsremains to be seen.
Amy Sherman-Palladino Opened Up About The Series To VF
ForVanity Fair’s exclusive first look, Amy Sherman-Palladino opened up ́toile, saying that a grudge overBundheads' cancellation is what helped inspire it. She says, “Look, my parents taught me very early to never let things go, and I am my parents' child. Bunheads gave us a little taste of the fun of being in that world on a smaller scale. I trained as a dancer, so I have been mystified that nothing has really come close to capturing the weirdness of the dance world. They’re an odd, amazing bunch of people.”
Étoilefinds ballet as a dying art form, and the two prestigious companies are tasked with luring audiences back. Sherman-Palladino says, “You almost lost a generation of dancers in COVID, because you have to keep the training going. A kid starts training at five, they missed years six, seven, and eight—that’s kind of it. Or dancers who were in their prime… That’s a huge loss to the arts. We don’t know what would’ve [or] could’ve been.”
However, the message ofÉtoilewill ultimately be one about the survival of ballet.
Ballet is also becoming endangered as a form of entertainment, due to budget cuts andpost-pandemic problems. Sherman-Palladino says these are “external forces pounding back an art form that is always trying to survive anyhow, where you’re almost guaranteed to never get rich, and you have to truly love it.” There are only a few ballerinas left. “There’s [Mikhail] Baryshnikov, there’s Misty Copeland, and you’re out… These are people whose careers are short and their commitment is 100%. It’s every single day from the time they were young children. One injury can knock you out. It’s a scary world.”
Release Date
April 24
However,the message ofÉtoilewill ultimately be one about the survival of ballet. Sherman-Palladino says, “It’s very hard to watch things like this suffer because, quite frankly, art can save people’s lives. It can change thought process. It can make things [that are] intolerable in the world tolerable… A lot of times, it’s the reason to get up in the morning… You need art, literature, drama, dance. Without this, life is just not life.”
