''Tiny Pretty Things'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

series based on the novel of the same name by

Sona Charaipotra Sona Charaipotra is an American entertainment and lifestyle journalist, and author of young adult fiction. She is best known for her YA lit column on Parade.com and her YA series ''Tiny Pretty Things''. Early life Charaipotra is Indian-American ...

and

Dhonielle Clayton Dhonielle Clayton is an American author and chief operating officer of We Need Diverse Books. Life and career Clayton was born in Washington, D.C. She went to Our Lady Of Good Counsel in Wheaton Maryland. She graduated with a B.A. from Wake F ...

, created by

Michael MacLennan Michael Lewis MacLennan (born June 5, 1968) is a Canadian playwright, television writer and television producer, best known as a writer and producer of television series such as '' Queer as Folk'' and ''Bomb Girls''. As a playwright he is a two ...

. It premiered on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on December 14, 2020, and has aired for one season. The series revolves around the goings on at a ballet school in Chicago, and focuses on the school's students, instructors, administrators, and benefactors. The dancing in the show is performed by the actors themselves, not doubles. Critical reaction to the series has been mixed. Official announcement has been made that it will not be continued.

Cast and characters

Main

Brennan Clost Brennan Clost (born October 20, 1994) is a Canadian actor and dancer, known for starring in the Family series '' The Next Step'', and the Netflix dance drama series ''Tiny Pretty Things''. Early and personal life Clost was born on October 20, 1 ...

as Shane McRae, an openly gay dancer who is secretly sleeping with his roommate, Oren * Barton Cowperthwaite as Oren Lennox, a dancer who has an eating disorder and Shane's roommate whom he is secretly sleeping with * Bayardo De Murguia as Ramon Costa, one of the best choreographers in the world * Damon J. Gillespie as Caleb Wick, a dancer who is secretly sleeping with Monique, the Archer School of Ballet's director * Kylie Jefferson as Neveah Stroyer, a dancer from

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

, who is given a full scholarship at the Archer School of Ballet after a student falls from a rooftop and into a coma * Casimere Jollette as Bette Whitlaw, a dancer who is living in the shadow of her older sister, Delia, and Oren's girlfriend * Anna Maiche as Cassie Shore, the dancer who falls from the rooftop and is in a coma * Daniela Norman as June Park, Cassie's former roommate and Neveah's roommate *

Michael Hsu Rosen Michael Hsu Rosen is an American actor and dancer best known for his roles as Jayden and Nabil in the Netflix series ''Pretty Smart (TV series), Pretty Smart'' and ''Tiny Pretty Things'', respectively. Rosen also starred in the Broadway theatre, ...

as Nabil Limyadi a French dancer who is a Muslim, Caleb's roommate, and Cassie's boyfriend * Tory Trowbridge as Delia Whitlaw, Bette's older sister and a graduate of the Archer School of Ballet; she is living with Costa and is considered a rising star *

Jess Salgueiro Jess Salgueiro is a Canadian actress, known for her roles in '' The Boys'', ''Workin' Moms'', ''The Expanse'', ''Letterkenny'' and ''Orphan Black''. Salgueiro is set to appear in a starring role in the Netflix show ''Tiny Pretty Things'', based o ...

as Isabel Cruz, a

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

police officer who is investigating Cassie's case *

Lauren Holly Lauren Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series ''Picket Fences'', NCIS Director Jenny Shepard in the series '' NCIS'', Dr. Betty Rogers on ''Motive' ...

as Monique DuBois, the director of the Archer School of Ballet in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, who is secretly sleeping with Caleb

Recurring

* Alexandra Bokyun Chun as Maricel Park, June's mother *

Shaun Benson Shaun Benson (born January 16, 1976) is a Canadian actor and director. Early life Benson was born in Guelph, Ontario. He is the son of Eugene Benson, an English professor and a prolific novelist, playwright and librettist."Just Cause for Benson: ...

as Topher Brooks, the ballet master at the Archer School of Ballet *

Michelle Nolden Michelle Nolden (born March 17, 1973) is a Canadian actress. She has appeared in numerous films and television shows including Murdoch Mysteries, '' ZOS: Zone of Separation'', ''Numb3rs'', ''Street Time'', '' Earth: Final Conflict'', ''The Time ...

as Katrina Whitlaw, Bette and Delia's mother who is part of the Archer School of Ballet's executive committee * Paula Boudreau as Selena Covey, Monique's secretary *

Jessica Greco Jessica Greco (born June 26th, 1980) is a Canadian actress and comedian best known for playing Karen Thurston, the dead teenage daughter of a chemical factory worker, in the 1997 television adaptation of the ''Goosebumps'' book '' Welcome to Dead ...

as Torri Fuller, the Archer School of Ballet's resident advisor *

Morgan Kelly Morgan Kelly (born 23 June, 1976) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles on ''Being Erica'' and '' Killjoys''. Career Kelly is known for his role on '' Fries with That?'' as Alexander "Alex" Kurzi. He also appears on ''Falcon Beach'' as ...

as Alan Renfrew, the head of sports medicine at the Archer School of Ballet and Topher's husband * Clare Butler as Esmé Halterlein *

Araya Mengesha Araya Mengesha(born July 23, 1987) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles as Kandae in '' Nurse.Fighter.Boy'', Michael in ''Cul de sac'' and Zoffi in ''Ruby Skye P.I.: The Maltese Puppy''. Biography Mengesha was born in Toronto to Ethio ...

as Tyler Stroyer, Neveah's older brother * Ashley Coulson as Gwen Resnik *

Nicole Huff Nicole Samantha Huff (born April 21, 1998) is a Canadian actress, singer and dancer. She is best known for her role in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation, Degrassi: Don't Look Back'' as Gloria, and in ''Tiny Pretty Things as'' Paige Aquino. In 201 ...

as Paige Aquino * Alex Eling as Matteo Marchetti, Bette's love interest *

Daniel Kash Daniel Joshua Kash (born April 25, 1959) is a Canadian actor and film director. Life and career Kash was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Canadian opera singer Maureen Forrester and Toronto-born violinist and conductor Eugene Kash (May 1, 1 ...

as Sgt. Dan Lavery, Isabel's boss at Chicago Police Department *

Luke Humphrey Luke Humphrey (born June 12, 1987) is an American-born Canadian actor. He is most noted for his performance as John Wayne Bobbitt in the television film '' I Was Lorena Bobbitt'', for which he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor in a Tel ...

as Travis Quinn * Josh Pyman as Dev Ranaweera, Shane's love interest *

Erin Pitt Erin Michelle Pitt (born September 22, 1999) is a Canadian actress, known for her trio of roles in the horror film '' Silent Hill: Revelation'', where she played Dark Alessa, Alessa Gillespie, and the younger Sharon DaSilva. Pitt's first lead ...

as Laura

Guest

Karen Robinson Karen Robinson (born February 29, 1968) is a British-Canadian film, television, and stage actress. She won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance in a Guest Role in a Drama Series at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019 for her appearan ...

as Makayla Stroyer, Neveah's mother who has served time in prison for murder and is looking to make amends. *

Tiler Peck Tiler Kalyn Peck (born January 12, 1989) is an American ballet dancer who is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. As well as ballet, she has performed in musical theatre shows and has made cameo appearances in films including ''Donni ...

as Sienna Milken * Emily Skubic as Lindy (uncredited)

Episodes

Production

Development

Insurrection Media, Inc. optioned the source material from

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

and developed the project for a year before getting a series order on August 6, 2019, from

for 10 episodes. The series is created by

who executive produced alongside Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, Jordanna Fraiberg, Deborah Henderson,

Gary Fleder Gary Fleder (; born December 19, 1965) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His most recently completed film, '' Homefront,'' was released by Open Road Films and Millennium Films in November 2013. In recent years he has bee ...

, Gabrielle Neimand, and Carrie Mudd. Felder also directed the first episode of the series. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Insurrection Media and Peacock Alley Entertainment, Inc. The series premiered on December 14, 2020.

Casting

Upon the series order announcement,

, Kylie Jefferson, Casimere Jollette, Daniela Norman,

, Michael Hsu Rosen, Damon J. Gillespie, Bayardo De Murguia, Barton Cowperthwaite, Tory Trowbridge, and

were cast as series regulars. On September 20, 2019, Anna Maiche joined the main cast. On December 9, 2020, it was reported a professional ballet dancer, Emily Skubic is set to make her debut guest role in the series.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

for the series began on August 6, 2019 and ended on December 3, 2019 in

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

Reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''Tiny Pretty Things'' received an approval rating of 53% based on 19 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.38/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Tiny Pretty Things'' has some solid moves, but an over-reliance on empty scandal over emotional substance make for unsatisfying viewing."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

gave the series a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 6 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* * {{Netflix original ended series (2019–present) 2020 American television series debuts 2020s American drama television series 2020s American LGBT-related drama television series Dance television shows English-language Netflix original programming Television series about ballet Television series about teenagers Television shows filmed in Toronto Television shows about drugs Television shows based on American novels Television shows set in Chicago