Revisiting ‘Bunheads’ via HULU

Category: Television and Streaming

When Bunheads first aired on ABC back in 2012, it was a story ahead of its time. While the show focused on Michelle (Sutton Foster) who quit being a Las Vegas showgirl to marry a sweet man (Alan Ruck) who ends up dying two days later and leaving her in the small town of Paradise with his mother Fanny (Kelly Bishop), a secondary part of the plot revolves around four young high school dancers as they struggle not only with their school and dancing, but also with their newly unfolding social lives and sexual awareness.

Sasha (Julia Goldani Telles) is a beautiful ballet dancer and the star of Fanny’s dance studio. Ginny (Bailey De Young), Boo (Kaitlyn Jenkins), and Melanie (Emma Dumont) make up the rest of the close-knit foursome. Each of these girls has family situations that are less than ideal yet they are happy, upbeat, and love to dance. And they are all wonderful dancers.

Something that makes this series as enjoyable as it is are the dance scenes that are woven through the series however mainly at the end of each episode for the last half of the season.

Sutton Foster is a great dancer in her own right as well as an actress and singer. She is the trifecta of entertainment, having starred in numerous Broadway plays as well as several TV shows including Younger (2015-2021).  And not only is Sutton an actor, but her brother Hunter is also an actor and appears in a few episodes in this show as, yes, her brother Scotty. When she met with the media ten years ago, Sutton acknowledged, “My brother is a Broadway performer as well.  We’ve done a handful of stuff together when we were kids, really, but we’d never really worked together.  So it was amazing.  We did two episodes together.  He stayed with me at my house here in L.A., and it was the first time we had lived together in 25 years, and that was interesting and fun.”

Watching this series for a second time, with a decade between viewings, allows for a new take on the show itself. The quick dialogue is a hallmark of the series, which is also a hallmark of most shows from Executive Producer Amy Sherman-Palladino. She has also produced The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Gilmore Girls, which are also known for their fast and clever dialogue. Others in her filmography are Veronica’s Closet and Can’t Hurry Love.

It is a wonder why this show never got a second season. In today’s market of streaming services, it is the right kind of show that beckons more. It is fun, dramatic, comedic at times, and has some wonderful dancing. Personal note: Why did I quit my ballet classes?

If you haven’t seen Bunheads HULU provides the perfect platform to experience the show for the first time or rediscover the charm of this series.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA. Follow her on Twitter.

 

Courtesy photo