Flesh and Bone is a limited series that just recently finished its run on the Starz channel. The series follows a young ballet dancer, Claire (Sarah Hay, Black Swan), who is running from her troubled past when she makes her way to New York City to try out for the prestigious American Ballet Company.

Claire had left her position in her previous company to take a sudden and mysterious leave of absence for a year, and never went back. The company’s manipulative artistic director Paul Grayson (Ben Daniels, House of Cards) quickly recognizes that she is a gifted star-to-be, and sees an opportunity to re-live his former glory through her. It has been three years since she last danced professionally, and some of the more senior members of the company don’t appreciate this obscure young ingenue popping up from seemingly nowhere to steal the spotlight.

As Claire moves into her company apartment, she first meets Romeo (Damon Herriman, Battle Creek, Justfied) whom she believes is just a crazy homeless man who lives outside her building. However, she soon learns that Romeo has a kind heart and seems to have the pulse on everything that’s going on—the building is like his own personal batcave and he maneuvers around it like a ninja. Claire’s roommate Mia (Emily Tyra, Boardwalk Empire), like most of the dancers, doesn’t eat, and this means she’s often in a bad mood—especially when she discovers she’s being forced to share her apartment.

Claire’s closest friend in the company is dancer Daphne (Raychel Diane Weiner), who comes from a wealthy family, but would rather live an artistic lifestyle. Daphne introduces Claire to the world of exotic dancing, and to her boss Sergei (Patrick Page, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark). The other dancers include straight guy Ross (Sascha Radetsky, Center Stage) and aging star Kiira (Irina Dvorovenko), who knows her time is almost up but wants to go out on her own terms. And helping Paul run things are wild new choreographer Toni (Marina Benedict, Torchwood), Ukrainian dance instructor Ivana (Tovah Feldshuh, The Walking Dead) and business manager Jessica (Tina Benko, Brotherhood), who lets her personal problems invade her professional life.

The series explores the dark underbelly of the dance world, where people can be two-faced, always thinking of how they can get ahead, without any regards for anyone else. Not only do we see the drama between the dancers, but also the conflicts with and among those in charge of the company. For example, Paul likes to set up “business meetings” with the company’s would-be benefactors and while he doesn’t outright ask the young women to sleep with them, it is most certainly implied.

As Claire tries to embrace and make her way in this new world, she discovers that she must quickly grow up and adapt if no longer wants to be the victim. However, as she tries to get away from her past, Claire’s brother Bryan (Josh Helman, The Pacific) comes crashing back into her life, throwing her into a confusing and conflicting state of emotions, leading to some very self-destructive behavior.

Flesh and Bone comes from Emmy Award-Winning Writer and Executive Producer Moira Walley-Beckett, who wrote the amazing “Ozymandias” episode of Breaking Bad. The series does a great job establishing this world. You really get a sense of the pressure these dancers are under, and this juxtaposition of the beauty they are expected to perform on stage with the ugliness behind-the-scenes.

While I am the furthest thing from a ballet fan, I recognize that fans of this art form will really appreciate the performances throughout the series. The producers have assembled a cast full of actual dancers, and this is apparent when you see them perform—it’s the real thing. Throughout the series we see the dancers practicing for two big performances, which we ultimately see in the final episode—and they do not disappoint. The cameras capture these stunning ballets in great detail.

The series is so creatively edited—several times we see the dancers performing some tragic ballet, and intercut with these performances is some real-life tragedy happening to some other characters. Intermixing these scenes adds to the emotional impact of both stories, making the combined product even more powerful than the sum of its parts.

I enjoyed the series a lot more than I originally expected I would when I first watched the pilot on Starz (and then decided to wait for this Blu-ray to binge the rest). It is a very dark show that sets up an interesting and beautiful world. However, some of the characters feel a bit like stereotypes, particularly the mean girl dancers. While there are many surprising twists and turns, I found Claire’s arc over the course of the series to be a bit disjointed, like the writers weren’t sure of what to do with her. Some of her actions and decisions seem to completely conflict with other actions and ideas that had been previously established. That said, I think the filmmakers did a really good job of giving the season itself this operatic feeling of a performance within a performance.

The Blu-ray presentation is excellent, with a pristine picture that captures the beauty both on-stage and in the gritty New York City backdrop. The audio track surrounds the viewer with an amazing score while also providing clear dialogue. One disappointment with this release is the lack of bonus material&mash;the only special feature is a 6-minute behind-the-scenes featurette with the cast/filmmakers.

What’s Included:
Episodes: (8:02:26)

• All 8 episodes of the series: “Bulling Through”, “Cannon Fodder”, “Reconnaissance”, “Boogie Dark”, “M.I.A.”, “F.U.B.A.R.”, “Full Dress”, “Scorched Earth”
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Spanish: Mono
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Extras:

• Creating the World of Flesh and Bone (6:37)
  The cast and filmmakers discuss the story, setting, characters, the dance routines and the casting of real dancers. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with creator/executive producer Moira Walley-Beckett, production designer Henry Dunn, choreographer Ethan Stiefel, and stars Ben Daniels (“Paul”), Emily Tyra (“Mia”), Sarah Hay (“Claire”), Josh Helman (“Bryan”), Sascha Radetsky (“Ross”), Raychel Diane Weiner (“Daphne”), Damon Herriman (“Romeo”) and Irina Dvorovenko (“Kiira”).

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I enjoyed Flesh and Bone much more than I originally thought I would. While I’m not a ballet fan (I’m the guy who fast-forwarded through the dance scenes while watching Bunheads), I can recognize that there are some quality dance performances in this series. But there is also an interesting, dark character drama going on at the same time. The Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing, but there is only one short bonus feature included on the disc. Fans of the series will definitely be pleased with the Blu-ray’s technical presentation, and I think the show’s worth checking out for others who may be interested.