If I had a nickel for every time a beloved Amy Sherman-Palladino show about ballet was prematurely canceled after one season, I’d have two nickels. Which, admittedly, isn’t a lot of nickels, but it’s still weird and deeply disappointing that it happened twice — first with Bunheads, and more recently (and more egregiously) with Étoile.
Back in 2013, ABC Family infamously pulled the plug on Bunheads, Sherman-Palladino’s carefully crafted homage to her own ballet history and fervent appreciation for the world of dance. The quirky, heartfelt series followed a Vegas showgirl (Sutton Foster) who found renewed purpose teaching kids at a small-town ballet studio owned by former dancer Fanny Flowers (Kelly Bishop). Bunheads currently maintains a 100% Certified Fresh Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but despite early critical acclaim and a growing fanbase, it was canceled after two seasons (18 episodes) due to low ratings.
Over a decade later, with a successful Gilmore Girls reboot for Netflix and Prime Video’s Emmy-winning Marvelous Mrs. Maisel under her belt hat, Sherman-Palladino and her husband/creative partner Daniel Palladino set out to bring the world of ballet to the small screen again, this time in an even bigger and more ambitious fashion, radiating with the sheen of Prestige TV and the confidence that comes from past projects bagging nearly two dozen Emmys throughout the years (including two wins for Outstanding Comedy Series).
Enter Étoile, a love letter to the arts that showed two renowned (albeit struggling) ballet companies in New York and Paris swapping top talent in hopes of revamping the public’s interest. Maisel alums Luke Kirby and Gideon Glick, along with Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lou De Laâge, and more talented stars (including Gilmore Girls alum and professional dancers) starred in the series, which received an early two-season order from Prime Video. After a 12-year grudge over the death of Bunheads, the Palladinos and their fans could finally breathe a collective sigh of relief and fully immerse themselves in Étoile’s world, comforted by the knowledge of clear interest in a Season 2. Or so we thought…
When all eight episodes of Étoile’s first season dropped on April 24, 2025, critics confidently covered the show and conducted interviews as though Season 2 were essentially a done deal. Fueled by the early two-season order, fans also felt safe enough to get attached to the show at a time when the fate of so many new series is uncertain. Then, in a disheartening twist, doubt about Étoile‘s fate started to creep in.
During The Hollywood Reporter’s Frontrunners panel earlier this month, Sherman-Palladino got candid about Hollywood, explaining, “When they say two-year pickup, they don’t mean it. They mean one year and then we’ll see who’s still working at Amazon by the time the second year comes around to be greenlit. So as of yet, there is no second season pickup. So what I’m saying is if you want Étoile, please go home and buy a lot of toilet paper on Amazon. I know Amazon loves selling toilet paper. So if you watch Étoile and go buy 40,000 things of toilet paper, they’ll be like, ‘Wow, look at all the toilet paper that we sell when people watch Étoile.’ And then maybe we’ll get a second season.”
The playful plea unfortunately didn’t prevent Étoile from getting axed a mere six weeks after its premiere. On June 6, Deadline reported that Prime Video would not be proceeding with a second season of the dance dramedy, despite the two-season order. “For Étoile, the decision not to proceed with the second season under the two-year pickup came down largely to performance vs. cost. It is not believed to be tied to the regime change at Amazon MGM Studios as the series was ordered under former head Jennifer Salke who exited in March,” the publication explained.
As the rescinded Season 2 order proves, you can’t trust everything you hear from the suits that call the shots. And losing a show that seemed like a shoo-in for a season renewal unfortunately is nothing new for Amazon. In 2024, Prime Video canceled My Lady Jane (which has a 95% Tomatometer score) after dropping all of its episodes at once, just like Étoile. And as Decider reported, The Wheel of Time was another beloved Prime Video series tragically canceled ahead of its fourth season after Salke was ousted from her role following a series of expensive misfires.
Having seen the gorgeous location shoots, elaborate dance productions, and multi-continental ensemble casts in Season 1, I have no doubts that Étoile is expensive to craft. However, the way that Amazon treated the series — leading with a two-season order that instilled a false sense of hope in ASP’s significant fanbase, not to mention opting for a controversial full-season drop instead of the weekly release strategy it has successfully employed for audience favorites like Reacher, The Boys, and The Summer I Turned Pretty — smacks of neglect. The timing is also curious, as the cancellation came in the middle of the industry’s crucial Emmys For Your Consideration season (and on Gideon Glick’s birthday, no less!). Per Deadline, the streamer and Amazon MGM Studios will continue to support the series’ awards campaign, but Étoile’s FYC run has become undeniably bittersweet, with each panel and push for recognition of achievements now doubling as a painful reminder of its lost potential.
Though Étoile may not have been an overnight success, it has a solid 85% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes and the Palladinos have proven themselves capable of crafting a stellar series for the streamer. Maisel ran five seasons and received 80 Emmy nominations, winning 22 times across virtually all of the major comedy categories (Outstanding Series, Actress, Writing, Directing). On top of a stacked cast of regular and supporting stars, Étoile welcomed incredible talents including David Byrne and Jonathan Groff. It featured witty writing, major creative risks, and compelling performances from its leads, in addition to launching storylines that had viewers hooked (like a major cliffhanger kiss between Kirby and de Laâge’s characters). The point is, Étoile had all of the tools to become a star, but instead became the latest collateral damage of the Streaming Wars.
Bunheads déjà vu and broken promises aside, Étoile‘s cancellation stings especially hard because Amazon’s move, ironically, reinforces the importance of the struggle at the heart of the series. Étoile was about a group of characters fighting to save the arts, a noble cause that those involved with creating the show considered to be a crucial topic of conversation in the entertainment industry — especially following the pandemic and labor strikes that have left the television industry reeling.
“It feels good. This is important, important stuff. I think it’s vital now,” Kirby told Decider ahead of Season 1’s premiere. “I think it’s beautiful to be part of a show that speaks about believers,” de Laâge added. “It’s not about the ugly side of humanity. It’s about the beautiful side of humanity and how art can change your life and can create a purpose in your life. I think we have enough series and movies about the dark side.”
In the end, the bosses at Prime Video unwittingly proved just how much a series like Étoile is needed. The show’s central conversation about saving the arts must continue, with or without a Season 2.
Étoile Season 1 is now streaming on Prime Video.