Flesh and Bone (miniseries)

Flesh and Bone is an American drama television miniseries created by Moira Walley-Beckett.^[1] It premiered on November 8, 2015, on the American cable television network Starz.^[2] Ethan Stiefel was a consultant and choreographer on the series.^[1]

Flesh and Bone
Genre	Drama
Created by	Moira Walley-Beckett
Written by	Moira Walley-Beckett Adam Rapp David Wiener Jami O'Brien Bronwyn Garrity
Directed by	David Michôd Joshua Marston Stefan Schwartz Nelson McCormick Adam Davidson Sam Miller Alik Sakharov
Starring	Sarah Hay Ben Daniels Emily Tyra Irina Dvorovenko Damon Herriman Josh Helman Raychel Diane Weiner Sascha Radetsky Marina Benedict Karell Williams
Opening theme	"Obsession" performed by Karen O
Composers	Dave Porter (score) Adam Crystal (ballet composer)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producers	Moira Walley-Beckett John Melfi Lawrence Bender Kevin Brown
Producer	Donna E. Bloom
Production location	New York City
Cinematography	Adam Arkapaw Terry Stacey
Editors	Michelle Tesoro Carole Kravetz Aykanian Andy Keir Meg Reticker
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Pelican Ballet Bender Brown
Original release
Network	Starz
Release	November 8 (2015-11-08) – December 27, 2015 (2015-12-27)

Plot

The founder and temperamental artistic director of the American Ballet Company, Paul Grayson (Ben Daniels), is determined to make it rank among the world's best artistic institutions. As the company's aging prima ballerina, Kiira (Irina Dvorovenko) struggles with an injury, Grayson believes that the company's saving grace is Claire Robbins (Sarah Hay), a beautiful and talented ballet dancer with a troubled past, whose inner torment drives her in compelling, unforeseeable ways. The series explores the dysfunction and glamour of the ballet world.

Cast

Main

• Sarah Hay as Claire Robbins, a beautiful and talented ballet dancer with a troubled past.^[1]
• Ben Daniels as Paul Grayson, an artistic director of the American Ballet Company.^[3]
• Emily Tyra as Mia Bialy, Claire's reluctant roommate who has an eating disorder.^[4]
• Irina Dvorovenko as Kiira, an aging prima ballerina struggling with an injury.^[4]
• Damon Herriman as Romeo, a homeless man who lives under Claire's building.^[4]
• Josh Helman as Bryan Robbins, Claire's incestuous brother and a former Marine.
• Raychel Diane Weiner as Daphne Kensington, an ambitious New Yorker from a privileged background.^[4]
• Marina Benedict as Toni Cannava, The American Ballet Company's transcendent new choreographer.
• Tina Benko as Jessica, the manager of the American Ballet Company.
• Sascha Radetsky as Ross, a womanizing principal dancer.^[4]
• Karell Williams as Trey, a struggling ballet dancer.

Supporting

• Tovah Feldshuh as Ivana, a ballet instructor.
• John Allee as Pasha, the ballet company's piano player.
• Patrick Page as Sergei Zelenkov.
• Vanessa Aspillaga as Monica, the assistant company manager of the American Ballet Company.
• Carling Talcott as Ashley.
• Nadezhda Vostrikov as Patrice, a jealous ballet dancer in the company.

Episodes

Starz released the first episode online on November 2, 2015, and the remaining episodes were made available on November 8, 2015, through Starz's On Demand channel in addition to the channel's weekly sequential airing of episodes.

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	US viewers (millions)
1	"Bulling Through"	David Michôd	Moira Walley-Beckett	November 8, 2015 (2015-11-08)	0.190[5]
2	"Cannon Fodder"	Joshua Marston	Moira Walley-Beckett	November 15, 2015 (2015-11-15)	0.147[6]
3	"Reconnaissance"	Stefan Schwartz	Adam Rapp	November 22, 2015 (2015-11-22)	0.130[7]
4	"Boogie Dark"	Nelson McCormick	David Wiener	November 29, 2015 (2015-11-29)	0.124[8]
5	"M.I.A."	Adam Davidson	Jami O'Brien	December 6, 2015 (2015-12-06)	0.122[9]
6	"F.U.B.A.R."	Sam Miller	Adam Rapp	December 13, 2015 (2015-12-13)	0.073[10]
7	"Full Dress"	Alik Sakharov	Bronwyn Garrity	December 20, 2015 (2015-12-20)	0.116[11]
8	"Scorched Earth"	Alik Sakharov	Moira Walley-Beckett	December 27, 2015 (2015-12-27)	0.093[12]

Reception

Flesh and Bone received mixed to positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives a "Fresh" score of 60%, which is an average rating of 5.9 out of 10, sampled from 35 reviews. The consensus reads: "Its nuanced female relationships makes Flesh and Bone a realistic portrayal of a professional ballet company, though it suffers from a lack of levity."^[13] On another review aggregator, Metacritic, the miniseries holds a score of 52 out of 100, calculated from 19 critics, signifying "mixed or average reviews".^[14] For the 2016 Writers Guild of America Awards, the series was nominated for Long Form Original.^[15] For the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, the series was nominated for Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television and Sarah Hay for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.^[16]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
2016	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film	Sarah Hay	Nominated	[17]
		Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television	Producers Lawrence Bender, Donna Bloom, Kevin Brown, John Melfi, Tiffany Parker, Lori Slomka and Moira Walley-Beckett	Nominated	[18]
	Satellite Award	Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film	Sarah Hay	Won	[19]
		Best Miniseries	Flesh and Bone/Starz	Won	[20]
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries	Sarah Hay	Nominated	[21]
	Women's Image Network Awards	Actress Made For Television Movie/Miniseries	Sarah Hay	Nominated	[22]
	SXSW Film Festival	Excellence in Title Design Finalists	Angus Wall	Nominated	[23]
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Long Form – Original	Writers Bronwyn Garrity, Jami O’Brien, Adam Rapp, Moira Walley-Beckett and David Wiener	Nominated	[24]
	Gracie Allen Awards	Outstanding Limited Series or Made for Television Movie	Starz Entertainment	Won	[25]