Flesh and Bone (miniseries) explained

Genre:	Drama
Creator:	Moira Walley-Beckett
Opentheme:	"Obsession" performed by Karen O
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Num Episodes:	8
Producer:	Donna E. Bloom
Location:	New York City
Runtime:	60 minutes
Channel:	Starz

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.

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.
• 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.
• 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.

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."^[5] On another review aggregator, Metacritic, the miniseries holds a score of 52 out of 100, calculated from 19 critics, signifying "mixed or average reviews".^[6] For the 2016 Writers Guild of America Awards, the series was nominated for Long Form Original.^[7] 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.^[8]

Awards and nominations

!Year!Award!Category!Recipient(s)!Result!Ref.

2016	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film	Sarah Hay		^[9]
		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		^[10]
	Satellite Award	Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film	Sarah Hay		^[11]
		Best Miniseries	Flesh and Bone/Starz		^[12]
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries	Sarah Hay		^[13]
	Women's Image Network Awards	Actress Made For Television Movie/Miniseries	Sarah Hay		^[14]
	SXSW Film Festival	Excellence in Title Design Finalists	Angus Wall		^[15]
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Long Form – Original	Writers Bronwyn Garrity, Jami O’Brien, Adam Rapp, Moira Walley-Beckett and David Wiener		^[16]
	Gracie Allen Awards	Outstanding Limited Series or Made for Television Movie	Starz Entertainment		^[17]

Notes and References

1. News: Andreeva . Nellie . October 24, 2014 . Starz Ballet Drama 'Flesh And Bone' To Become Limited Series . https://web.archive.org/web/20230528195447/https://deadline.com/2014/10/flesh-and-bone-ballet-drama-becomes-limited-series-starz-859855/ . May 28, 2023 . December 11, 2014 . Deadline Hollywood.
2. News: Roots . Kimberly . April 9, 2015 . Flesh and Bone: Starz Ballet Drama Gets Premiere Date, On-Pointe Poster . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240813195838/https://tvline.com/news/flesh-and-bone-premiere-date-poster-starz-603672/ . August 13, 2024 . April 10, 2015 . TVLine.
3. Web site: Nededog . Jethro . March 11, 2014 . 'House of Cards' Ben Daniels Joins Starz Drama 'Flesh and Bone' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221204050557/https://www.thewrap.com/house-cards-ben-daniels-joins-starz-drama-flesh-bone/ . December 4, 2022 . June 2, 2014 . The Wrap.
4. News: Andreeva . Nellie . January 26, 2014 . Ballet Drama 'Flesh And Bone' Gets Series Order At Starz, Casts Lead . January 28, 2014 . Deadline Hollywood.
5. Web site: Flesh and Bone: Season 1. Rotten Tomatoes. November 12, 2015.
6. Web site: Flesh and Bone - Season 1. Metacritic. November 12, 2015.
7. Web site: Writers Guild Awards: 2016 TV Nominations Announced. Rotten Tomatoes. December 3, 2015. December 3, 2015.
8. Web site: Golden Globe 2016 Nominations - Full List. Rotten Tomatoes. December 10, 2015. December 10, 2015.
9. Web site: Sarah Hay . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240419215456/https://goldenglobes.com/person/sarah-hay/ . April 19, 2024 . August 13, 2024 . Golden Globe Awards.
10. Web site: Flesh and Bone . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240113225312/https://goldenglobes.com/tv-show/flesh-and-bone/ . January 13, 2024 . August 13, 2024 . Golden Globe Awards.
11. Web site: Sarah Hay . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230326025033/http://www.pressacademy.com/recipient/sarah-hay/ . March 26, 2023 . August 13, 2024 . International Press Academy.
12. Web site: Flesh and Bone . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922065907/https://www.pressacademy.com/project/flesh-and-bone/ . September 22, 2022 . August 13, 2024 . International Press Academy.
13. News: Gray . Tim . December 14, 2015 . Critics' Choice Award Nominations: Complete List . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240524000039/https://variety.com/2015/film/awards/critics-choice-award-nominations-2016-nominees-full-list-1201660235/ . May 24, 2024 . August 13, 2024 . Variety.
14. Web site: Nominees, winners, honorees 18th WIN Awards . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240228094649/https://www.thewinawards.com/win18 . February 28, 2024 . August 13, 2024 . Women's Image Network.
15. Web site: Kolmar . Jim . February 18, 2016 . Excellence in Title Design Finalists Announced for SXSW Film 2016 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160319135128/http://www.sxsw.com/film/news/2016/excellence-in-title-design-finalists-announced . March 19, 2016 . August 13, 2024 . SXSW.
16. Web site: Writers Guild Awards Winners & Nominees: 2023-2013 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240304093309/https://awards.wga.org/awards/nominees-winners/2022-2013 . March 4, 2024 . August 13, 2024 . Writers Guild Awards.
17. Web site: 2016 Gracies Gala Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231124141326/https://allwomeninmedia.org/gracies/2016-gracies-winners/ . November 24, 2023 . August 13, 2024 . Alliance for Women in Media. 17 March 2016 .