Flesh and Bone Golden Globe nomination: Moira Walley-Beckett reflects on end of series

Starz’s dark ballet drama Flesh and Bone may be coming to a close at the end of December, but creator Moira Walley-Beckett says the Golden Globe nomination announced Thursday morning is a “celebration,” not a goodbye for the series that received a limited run after being initially conceived as an ongoing show. After all, it had been her passion project.

“I feel like these nominations are less a eulogy and more of a celebration,” she tells EW. “It’s a celebration of the labor, a celebration of the extraordinary accomplishment of shooting this kind of thing … We killed ourselves on this project. We absolutely were beaten to shreds by the time we were done, and it was so grueling, and everybody believed in it and worked so hard, so now everybody’s ecstatic.”

When the announcement came that the series had picked up a nod for Best Television Limited Series — as well as one for dancer and actress Sarah Hay — Walley-Beckett had been hiking alone in Ojai, California, and was immediately and “completely overwhelmed” by the two nominations. And though the series is headed for its finale, she says, “I hope that people were moved and at times astonished and disturbed and emotionally attached. I’ve made my peace with Flesh and Bone being this, like, shooting star that comes into the atmosphere and just sparkles and shines and disappears now forever.” She pauses. “And I’m feeling pretty good about it.”

Still, will the former Breaking Bad scribe ever return to writing about the gritty life of ballet dancers in New York City? Probably not, Walley-Beckett admits, but adds that she’d like to return to the themes she focused on over the course of the eight episoes, including homelessness, schizophrenia, and dysfunctional family dynamics.

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But for the Golden Globes ceremony, Walley-Beckett says she’s just happy to have an invite into the venue this time. “On Breaking Bad, I was always enjoying the broadcast with other writers and our team in an adjacent room, so I feel like I’ve really just made the grade,” she says, laughing. “I’m excited about that.”

See the full list of Golden Globe nominations here. The Golden Globes air Jan. 10 on NBC.