Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino have scored a two-season order for a series set in the world of ballet at Amazon, Variety has learned.
Titled “Étoile,” the series will take place in both New York and Paris. Each season will consist of eight episodes. The official logline states that the show “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.”
The cast for the series includes Luke Kirby (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Deuce”), Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent!,” “House of Gucci”), Simon Callow (“Outlander,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral”), Lou de Laâge (“The Innocents”), Gideon Glick (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Marriage Story”), and David Alvarez (“West Side Story”).
“Amy and Dan are brilliant creators of remarkable and enduring characters and one-of-a-kind storytelling,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon and MGM Studios. “We’re incredibly excited for ‘Étoile,’ as we have no doubt Amy, Dan, and their team will continue to produce incredible and impactful event television that we can’t wait to share with our global Prime audiences.”
The show expands the working relationship between Kirby, Glick and Sherman-Palladino and Palladino, as the latter two executive produced the hit Amazon Prime Video series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Kirby has received two Emmy nominations for best guest actor in a comedy for the show, winning the award in 2019. Glick joined the show in its fourth season. The fifth and final season of “Maisel” is currently airing.
“Well, guess that plan for early retirement will have to wait,” Sherman-Palladino and Palladino said. “Instead, we’ve decided to embark on an international journey with an unbelievable group of players and the most talented ballet dancers in the world. We will sleep when we’re dead.”
“Étoile” is now the second two-season pickup Sherman-Palladino and Palladino have secured at Amazon, as “Maisel” was also originally picked up for two seasons in 2017. It was the first multi-season order for a new series in Amazon’s history at the time.
Sherman-Palladino and Palladino are the writers, directors, and executive producers of “Étoile.” Dhana Rivera Gilbert will also executive produce, with Scott Ellis co-executive producing. Amazon Studios, where Sherman-Palladino and Palladino are under an overall deal, will produce.
This is now the second series set in the world of dance from Sherman-Palladino. She previously co-created the ABC Family (now Freeform) series “Bunheads” starring Sutton Foster, about a Vegas showgirl who winds up teaching at her mother-in-law’s ballet school. Palladino was a consulting producer, writer, and director on the series.
Sherman-Palladino began her career on “Roseanne” during the show’s third season. In 2000, She created the beloved television series “Gilmore Girls.” The sequel miniseries “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” launched on Netflix in 2016. Palladino broke into series television in 1989, spending three years on the ABC comedy “Who’s the Boss?” He then spent two years in the mid-1990s on “Roseanne,” serving as a writer, co-executive producer, and then executive producer. In 2000 he began a half-dozen years on “Gilmore Girls,” writing some of its most popular episodes and eventually segued into directing.