Spinning Out is an American drama television series, created by Samantha Stratton, that premiered on Netflix on January 1, 2020.[1] In February 2020, the series was canceled after one season.[2]
The series stars Kaya Scodelario as Kat Baker, a young ice skater who suffers a serious injury and is given the opportunity to restart her career as a pairs skater all while hiding her family's history of mental illness. The series follows the Baker family along with Kat's partner Justin Davis and his family.
Premise
Spinning Out follows Kat Baker, an up-and-coming, high-level single skater who is about to turn in her skates after a disastrous fall took her off the competition track. When Kat seizes an opportunity to continue her career as a pair skater with a talented bad-boy partner, she risks exposing a fiercely kept secret that could unravel her entire life. On and off the ice, Kat and her new partner will face daunting odds, injury to body and soul, financial sacrifice, and even potential mental breakdown on their way to realizing their Olympic dream."[3]
In Idaho competitive ice figure skater Kat Baker (Kaya Scodelario) suffers a head injury during a competition. The injury forces her to adjust her dreams away from competitive skating and towards coaching just as her younger sister, Serena is about to enter senior level competition. Kat fails her exams but is offered an opportunity to enter pairs skating as the partner of Justin, a wealthy skater whose partner injures herself during practice. Kat declines and makes plans to move to London with her boyfriend instead.
2
"Welcome to the Family"
Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum
Samantha Stratton
January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
Kat changes her mind about going to London and decides to partner with Justin only to discover he's already partnered with Leah, a new arrival. To change his mind, Jenn urges Kat to land a triple toe jump, her most consistent triple jump before her injury. Though Kat fails to land the jump she nevertheless impresses Justin with her determination though he tells her she still needs to win over his father. A fight between Kat and her mother, Carol, leaves Kat homeless and isolated from Serena.
3
"Proceed with Caution"
Matt Hastings
Paul Keables
January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
Kat struggles with partnering for the first time. Dasha urges her and Justin to bond with one another and her old school methods lead them to unexpectedly open up to one another. Meanwhile, Kat takes her suspicions that Serena's new coach, Mitch, is grooming her to the next level.
4
"Keep Pinecrest Wild"
Matt Hastings
Elizabeth Pearson
January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
When Kat and Justin struggle to connect on the ice Kat worries that her bipolar disorder is causing her to withdraw from everyone. She seeks out Marcus for a date provoking Justin's jealousy. Meanwhile, Carol and Serena's coach Mitch grow closer.
5
"Two for $40"
Matt Hastings
Leon Chills
January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
Kat's plans to show her mother she can make it on her own are thwarted when Carol cleans out her bank account. Upset that Carol and Mitch are growing closer, Serena reveals that Carol is bipolar hoping to drive him away.
After a stint at a mental health facility Carol tries to put her life in order but suffers a series of financial setbacks. She turns to Justin's stepmother Mandy for help. Mitch feels conflicted in his relationship as Carol's boyfriend and Serena's coach.
Things begin to go well for Kat as she begins to recover from her PTSD and she and Justin open up to one another off ice. However as things begin to go well Kat begins to struggle under the pressure to perform.
7
"Healing Times May Vary"
Norma Bailey
Elizabeth Higgins Clark
January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
As Kat and Justin begin to compete Kat's disappointed that the low difficulty of their routine means they always finish well off the podium. Hoping to get a chance to compete nationally Kat makes a decision that prioritizes her career over her mental health. When Serena's father Reggie abruptly returns Mitch struggles with jealousy while Carol welcomes the news until she learns that Reggie plans to take Serena in full time.
After weeks of not taking her meds Kat becomes manic and goes on a buying and partying spree that has devastating consequences for Justin and Marcus. Serena feels abandoned as Kat dodges her calls and Carol gets caught up helping Mandy when she goes into early labour.
9
"#1 Mom"
Matt Hastings
Lara Olsen
January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
After getting a call from Justin, Carol helps Kat to go back on her medication and lies to everyone that she has pneumonia. Now aware of Kat's secret, Justin and Marcus decide to keep quiet despite suffering harsh consequences for her behaviour. Despite Kat's desire to come clean about her disorder, Carol pressures Kat to stay silent about her mental illness.
10
"Kiss & Cry"
Jon Amiel
Samantha Stratton
January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
Justin decides to end his personal and professional relationship with Kat only to change his mind at the last minute. The two head to Sectionals which is being held at the rink where Kat had her career altering injury.
Kat is distracted from the competition when Serena's behaviour leads her to once again suspect that Serena has been sexually assaulted by Mitch.
Production
Development
On October 11, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order consisting of ten episodes. The series was created by Samantha Stratton who was also expected to serve as co-showrunner with Lara Olsen. Stratton and Olsen were also set to executive produce the series alongside Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell with Matt Schwartz serving as a co-executive producer. Production companies were slated to consist of Safehouse Pictures.[3][4][5] On February 3, 2020, it was reported that the series was canceled after one season.[2]
Casting
Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Emma Roberts would star in the series.[3][4][5] On October 31, 2018, it was reported that Roberts had dropped out of the series, citing a scheduling conflict.[6][7][8] In December 2018, it was announced that Kaya Scodelario had been cast to replace Roberts in the role of Kat Baker. It was also reported that Willow Shields, Evan Roderick, Johnny Weir, Sarah Wright Olsen, Will Kemp, Kaitlyn Leeb, Amanda Zhou, and Mitchell Edwards had been cast in series regular roles.[9][10][11][12] On January 16, 2019, it was reported that January Jones had joined the cast in a leading role.[13] On February 21, 2019, it was announced that Svetlana Efremova and Charlie Hewson had been cast in a series regular role and recurring capacity respectively.[14]
Figure skating doubles
A number of Canadian figure skaters served as skating doubles for the series' stars, including Michelle Long (singles skating) and Elizabeth Putnam (singles and pairs skating) for Kaya Scodelario as Kat Baker, Kim Deguise Léveillée (jumps) for Scodelario and Willow Shields as Serena Baker, and Dylan Moscovitch for Evan Roderick as Justin Davis.[15] Canadian pair team Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud[16] served as doubles for Kat and Justin's pair elements. Other doubles include Lilika Zheng for Amanda Zhou as Jenn Yu, Emma Cullen for January Jones as Carol Baker, and Madeline Schizas[17] for Kaitlyn Leeb as Leah Starnes.
Filming
Principal photography for the series took place from January 28 to May 16, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario.[18]
Reception
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 63% with an average rating of 6.5/10, based on 16 reviews. The website's critical consensus states, "Though at times more melodramatic than meaningful, Spinning Out's campy, guilty-pleasure exterior hides a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of living with a mental illness."[19] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20]
Robyn Bahr of The Hollywood Reporter called it "Uneven but mostly engrossing, it combines the unflinching class struggles of I, Tonya, the star-crossed romance of The Cutting Edge and the disability-as-tragedy goopiness of Ice Castles."[21]Caroline Framke of Variety wrote "The series has all the right ingredients for an addictive watch: a solid premise, some compelling actors, and some classic teen show tensions and rhythms in the earnest vein of 'Degrassi' braiding it all together. But as the season plods towards its uneven finale, 'Spinning Out' instead does exactly what its title promises instead of sticking the landing."[22]
