Take a fictional New York City ballet company, throw in a cast of famous ballet stars, and add a writer-producer of Breaking Bad, Moira Walley-Beckett, and you’ve got the new Starz drama, Flesh and Bone.
Following the trend of realistic TV dramas like Fargo and inspired by the psychological warfare portrayed in Black Swan, Flesh and Bone is a show that promises to expose all of the unglamorous characteristics which hover over major ballet companies. The onstage allusion of grace and beauty in ballet is not always what it appears to be, as dancers offstage push themselves daily to fully realize their physical and mental limitations.
The high point of any drama, however, rests on how the characters manage their fears and frustrations without overdoing it. Flesh and Bone includes a handful of main characters with extremely emotional temperaments; from an abusive, controlling, and unhinged artistic director, played by House of Cards actor Ben Daniels, to the not-so-innocent young dancer Claire, played by Dresden Semperoper Ballet soloist Sarah Hay.
The cast also includes an impressive list of professional dancers, like former American Ballet Theater soloist Sascha Radetsky and principal Irina Dvorovenko, as well as in-demand choreographer, Ethan Stiefel. (Radetsky and Stiefel are also former cast members of the 2000 ballet film and cult-classic Center Stage.)
Flesh and Bone will mainly follow Claire as she comes to grips with her position in the ballet company and remains haunted by her past. Judging from the trailer, Claire will undergo some traumatic experiences — a la Jesse Pinkman — and begin to reveal her darker, obsessive, and impulsive side along with the rest of the characters. Having won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series in 2014, Walley-Beckett is set on adding that passionate touch of narration and dialogue we ferociously enjoyed in Breaking Bad.
Flesh and Bone premieres on Starz November 8, but have a look at the opening credits below. Images of a lace-up pole-dancer, the New York City skyline, and a ballerina breaking in her brittle pointe shoes are paired with a dazzling cover of Animotion‘s 1984 hit song, “Obsession” sung by Yeah Yeah Yeah‘s front woman, Karen O.
Will you be watching Flesh and Bone in November? Let us know below!
—
HT: Vanity Fair
Image Credit: Starz
