Critic Reviews

The show is too thoughtful to be dismissed as kitschy fun.

As a drama, Flesh and Bone is compelling and ripe for binge-watching.

As Flesh and Bone unfolds, though, the story gets darker and more warped, not just for self-destructive Claire but also for the rest of the troupe.... All [of] this is frequently hard to watch, but also impossibly addictive.

If German expressionism is your thing—and the sensation of emotional battering feels real here for the characters and viewers alike--the eight-episode series will be searingly satisfying. Everyone else, be warned and encouraged: This is a long walk on the dark side pierced by occasional moments of glittering, breath-stopping beauty.

It’s intriguing for its setting and some of its stories--although the fine arts world in New York does call to mind the lighter “Mozart in the Jungle” on Amazon--and yet at the same time it’s often predictable in its premium cable-style plotting and pretentiousness, which is where the irritation comes in.... And yet, Flesh and Bone proved highly addictive, encouraging a binge of all its episodes in just a few days.

Creator Moira Walley-Beckett’s eight-episode limited series about the depressing and excessively cruel world of professional ballet has moments that are sublime and engrossing but not always sustainable. Flesh and Bone can also be ham-handed in both narrative and dialogue.

The best parts of the eight-part limited series are when everyone's on their toes.... Too bad that whenever Flesh and Bone shifts focus from dance, it risks becoming flat-footed. [9-22 Nov 2015, p.12]

Flesh and Bone is so grim, so devoid of pleasure, so moldering that you're left to wonder why this significant collection of talent didn't actually have something fun or exciting to say about the New York ballet world.

The series’ dependency on melodrama is acceptable, but Walley-Beckett exaggerates too much when more substantive character development and evolution is needed.

For conveying such a rich sense of authenticity alone, for showing us the physical rigors facing those whose goal is to challenge gravity, Flesh and Bone deserves praise. The actors playing dancers are all professional dancers, too, so that the practice scenes are lovely and don’t require much dodgy camerawork. The storytelling, alas, leaves something to be desired.