The curtain dropped early on Étoile this month when Prime Video canceled the ballet comedy-drama series one season into its two-season order. But cast members still got their roses — and sounded off about the cancellation — at a SCAD Lacoste Film Festival event honoring the show in Lacoste, France, on Friday, June 27.
“Of course [the cancellation is] a bummer, but at the same time, we’re here to celebrate the fact that it existed,” said actor Ivan du Pontavice, per Deadline. “We’re just celebrating the experience. We like to tell tales about how it happened, our experience, it still feels very fresh. It just came out, and we’re still very excited about being a part of it.”
Yanic Truesdale said, “One of the things I said in many interviews is that this was the one job in 36 years on which I made the most friends. At a human level, the fact that we won’t be able to hang out on set anymore is a big disappointment.”
Truesdale was also excited about the Season 2 storylines that creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino had in mind. “The second season, once everything is established, is really when they start to fly with the material,” he said.
Taïs Vinolo compared the challenges facing streaming TV shows to the challenges facing dance companies, saying, “It’s all about the money and no longer about the art. It’s like in the ballet world, too. Ballet has been here for so long, but a lot of ballet companies that have potential cannot show that potential because of the financial aspect. It’s very sad. This show did such a good job at showing that.”
In Étoile, two struggling dance companies — one in Paris, one in New York City — trade their most talented performers in a bid to save themselves. After the success of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, another creation of the Palladinos, Prime Video game Étoile a two-season straight-to-series order in 2023. But the streamer cut that order and canceled the show just weeks after the first season’s debut this April.
In the show, Truesdale played Le Ballet National trainer Raphaël Marchand, joining fellow Gilmore Girls alum Kelly Bishop as a recurring star. Vinolo and Pontavice played French dancers Mishi Duplessis and Gabin Roux, respectively. Luke Kirby starred as New York Metropolitan Ballet artistic director Jack McMillan — joining fellow Mrs. Maisel alum Gideon Glick, who played choreographer Tobias Bell — and Charlotte Gainsbourg starred as Le Ballet National in Paris artistic director Geneviève Lavigne.
Despite the cancellation, Pontavice believes Étoile will stand the test of time, saying, “I actually think that in a couple years, people will look back to the show, and enjoy a lot of the things in it. It might take time, it might be slow for people to really get into it, but I think it’s there to stay and to grow.”