TV News

Bunheads, the ABC Family Series Starring Sutton Foster, Dances Into the Sunset

The hour-long dramedy followed a former Las Vegas showgirl as she teaches ballet to high school students.

Sutton Foster in <i>Bunheads</i>
Sutton Foster in Bunheads
(© Adam Taylor/Disney Enterprises)

Bunheads, the dance-themed ABC Family drama series starring Tony Award winners Sutton Foster and Kelly Bishop, has been canceled, the network confirmed.

“Bunheads is a wonderful series that we are very proud to have aired,” ABC Family said in a statement. “The series had amazing storytelling, the most talented cast, and a passionate and loyal fan base. Recognizing all of this, we took extra time to try and find ways to bring the series back for another season, but in the end it simply wasn’t possible. We wish the cast and crew the best in their future endeavors.”

Foster, a Tony winner for Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes, starred as Michelle Sims, a former Las Vegas showgirl who, after a shotgun wedding, moves in with her new husband (Alan Ruck) and his cantankerous mother (Bishop, a Tony winner for A Chorus Line) in a small seaside community in California. After his sudden death, Michelle makes the choice to stay in the town and begin teaching at her new mother-in-law’s dance studio, where she bonds with her teenage dancers (played by Kaitlyn Jenkins, Julia Goldani Telles, Bailey Buntain, and Emma Dumont).

The show was created and executive-produced by Amy Sherman-Palladino, who is best known as the creator of the long-running series Gilmore Girls.