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Netflix’s Tiny Pretty Things has sex on the mind but little else
The fictional Archer School Of Ballet, the centerpiece of Netflix’s new dramatic thriller Tiny Pretty Things, is a world-renowned institution where the industry’s most promising stars are built from the ground up. Landing a highly coveted spot is no easy task, and maintaining one’s place at the barre after getting into the Chicago-based school is somehow even harder. Any ballet hopeful with a modicum of ambition would kill for the chance to be an Archer protégé. So what makes this ballet school any different than the host of schools that came before it? Not much, aside from the fact that at least one Archer pupil is actually willing to literally kill for glory, hence ballerina Cassie Shore’s untimely slip from the school’s roof.
WATCH GUIDE: Tiny Pretty Things
Based on the popular YA novel by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra, Tiny Pretty Things follows the lives of various young dancers who try to maintain their focus on their craft while enduring a serious investigation—one that the school’s highest-ranking administrator would rather sweep under the rug. Honestly, it’s not too difficult to forget entirely about the pursuit of justice for Archer’s much-maligned student because there is simply so much going on: Affairs, sex, profoundly inappropriate relations between staff and underage students, more sex, a complex trafficking ring, and, dear god, a preponderance of sex. Interspersed dance scenes offer small moments of reprieve and a chance for the cast of trained performers to showcase their skills, but Michael MacLennan’s series seems to prioritize sex appeal above all else, including strong character development, authentic emotion, and a cohesive execution of multiple plot lines.
We enter the bustling halls of Archer with Nevaeh Stroyer (Kylie Jefferson), a young Black dancer from Inglewood, California. At first, her acceptance and full-ride scholarship are mysteries, as her application was previously rejected. But it doesn’t take long to piece together the circumstances surrounding her change in fortune: A lingering scandal involving a now-comatose student is quickly sullying the good Archer name and Madame Monique Dubois (Lauren Holly) is clawing at any shred of good will to repair the school’s image, including “helping a girl escape her dead-end life in Compton,” which she’s quick to tell the swarm of reporters within minutes of Nevaeh’s arrival. But before the young arrival can totally recover from that moment of thinly veiled racism, she learns that she’s been summoned to replace Cassie. “Who’s Cassie Shore,” Nevaeh asks—the question of the hour. Who is Cassie, why was she pushed off of the school’s roof, and whodunnit?
