With Etoile, Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino return to familiar ground: ballet.

But this time, the showrunner duo behind The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Gilmore Girls go beyond aesthetics to spotlight the grit, sacrifice, and passion within the dance world.

Speaking at a recent Hollywood Reporter Frontrunners panel, the creators offered a candid look into the nearly three-year journey to bring Etoile to life.

Sherman-Palladino, herself a former dancer, reflected on portrayals of ballet in media.

“Most of the stuff that I’ve seen done around the ballet world, it’s usually like, ‘Oh, they’re so pretty and fluffy onstage,’ but then offstage they push each other off buildings and murder each other. I’m kidding. But there’s just so much more to it than that.”

She emphasized the stark realities behind the beauty: “It’s the one art form where you’re guaranteed to never make a dime… and you’re giving up everything because it’s just for the pure love of this art form, and I find that miraculous.”

A Transatlantic Ballet Exchange

Etoile follows two ballet companies—one in New York, the other in Paris—as they swap their top talent in an effort to boost ticket sales.

The cast includes Luke Kirby, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lou de Laâge, Gideon Glick, Ivan du Pontavice, Yanic Truesdale, and David Alvarez.

The show’s multilingual nature presented new challenges. Known for their signature rapid-fire dialogue, the Palladinos found incorporating French into the script a complex endeavor. “We went through many translators,” said Dan Palladino. “We used Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou de Laâge mainly as our judges… but we kept getting head-shaking when we asked, ‘what about these translations?’ and they were like ‘NO!'”

Eventually, they hired a bilingual expert who joined them on set, ensuring that both the tone and rhythm of the dialogue aligned with their distinctive style.

Casting Dancers Who Can Act—and Vice Versa

Casting was another uphill climb. With dual demands—actors who could dance, and dancers who could act—the process was slow and methodical.

“The casting took forever,” admitted Palladino. “We basically had to put 20 professional grade dancers in each country.”

Sherman-Palladino stressed the importance of making the dancers feel integral.

“This show is about the dancers—it’s not a dance show—it’s really about them and their lives and their work.” She added that they worked to tailor dialogue to individual performers, ensuring their contributions felt authentic.

In the case of Lou de Laâge, who plays world-renowned ballerina Cheyenne, the decision was made to cast for acting first and supplement with a dance double. “We knew we wouldn’t be able to find a dancer who could take on a role as complex as Cheyenne,” said Palladino. De Laâge underwent rigorous training, supported by a dance double, to bring physical credibility to the performance.

By contrast, Taïs Vinolo (Mishi) and David Alvarez (Gael) brought professional dance backgrounds to their roles. Alvarez, in particular, had a life story ripe for fiction. “He was on Broadway; he won a Tony; then he danced at ABT [American Ballet Theatre]; then he joined the army; then he backpacked across Mexico,” Sherman-Palladino recounted. “We asked him, ‘Do you mind if we steal your entire life for our evil purposes?’”

A Two-Season Order, One Season Completed

Amazon originally ordered two seasons of Etoile in 2023. While the first season has aired—concluding with several key twists—there’s no confirmed pickup for a second season yet. Sherman-Palladino didn’t mince words about the streaming landscape’s uncertainty.

“When they say two-year pickup, they don’t mean it,” she said. “They mean one year and then we’ll see who’s still working at Amazon by the time the second year comes around.”

She half-joked that fans could help renew Etoile by boosting consumer metrics: “If you want Etoile, please go home and buy a lot of toilet paper on Amazon… Then maybe we’ll get a second season.”

Centering Craft Over Commerce

What sets Etoile apart in the crowded prestige drama space is its unwavering focus on art and authenticity. The creators have gone to great lengths to honor the real-life discipline of ballet while delivering sharp, multilingual storytelling.

As Sherman-Palladino put it, “We come in peace.” For the world of Etoile, that peace is hard-earned, deeply felt, and above all, artistically authentic.