The Big Leap

The Big Leap is an American musical comedy-drama television series created by Liz Heldens, based on the British reality miniseries Big Ballet, which aired on Fox during the 2021–22 television season. In March 2022, the series was canceled after one season.

Premise
The Big Leap is a drama which revolved around a group of diverse, down-on-their-luck characters attempting to change their lives by participating in a potentially life-ruining reality dance show competition.

Main

 * Scott Foley as Nick Blackburn
 * Simone Recasner as Gabby Lewis
 * Ser'Darius Blain as Reggie Sadler
 * Jon Rudnitsky as Mike Devries
 * Raymond Cham Jr. as Justin Reyes
 * Mallory Jansen as Monica Suillvan
 * Kevin Daniels as Wayne Fontaine
 * Anna Grace Barlow as Brittney Lovewell
 * Adam Kaplan as Simon Lovewell
 * Piper Perabo as Paula Clark
 * Teri Polo as Julia Perkins

Recurring

 * Tom Lennon as Zach Peterman
 * Robert Wisdom as Earl Reyes
 * Fabrice Calmels as Claude
 * Brett Tucker as Linus
 * Rachel A. Kim as Miriam

Development
On January 28, 2020, Fox gave the project a pilot order, the first for the network's 2020–21 television season, with Fox Entertainment and 20th Television set as co-production partners and was written by Liz Heldens. The series ultimately skipped the step to the 2021–22 television season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Fox giving a series greenlight on April 28, 2021. Heldens was set as showrunner with Jason Winer announced as director and executive producer of the pilot. On May 17, 2021, during Fox's Upfront presentation, it was confirmed that the series was scheduled to premiere as a fall season entry during the 2021–22 television season.

Casting
In February 2020, Teri Polo, Matt Lucas, Ser'Darius Blain and Raymond Cham Jr. were cast in main roles for the pilot. In March 2020, Scott Foley was cast in the main role for this pilot including Simone Recasner and Jon Rudnitsky also joined the cast. On July 17, 2020, it was announced that Laura Benanti has been cast in the pilot. However, both Lucas and Benanti later exited the project. In December 2020, Piper Perabo was cast to replace Benanti in the lead role, with Mallory Jansen and Kevin Daniels joining the series in a main role. After the series was picked up in May 2021, Anna Grace Barlow joined the series. In July 2021, Adam Kaplan, Tom Lennon, and Robert Wisdom joined the cast in recurring roles. In October 2021, Brett Tucker joined the cast in a recurring role.

Filming
Production of the pilot episode commenced on December 2, 2020. On December 18, 2020, production was temporarily suspended due to positive COVID-19 test results, from the crew members. The pilot was filmed in Chicago, Illinois, and at the Rialto Theatre in downtown Joliet.

Release
The series premiered on Fox on September 20, 2021 and concluded on December 6, 2021. In Canada, the series airs on CTV2. The series premiered on Disney+ via the streaming hub Star as an original series in selected countries. In Latin America, the series premiered as a Star+ original.

On March 4, 2022, multiple media outlets reported that Fox had canceled The Big Leap after a single season; despite critical acclaim, it had been the network's lowest rated series in the 2021–22 season.

Due to unknown reasons, the show was removed from all Disney streaming platforms on October 3, 2022, alongside other original Star shows.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 100% with an average rating of 8.50/10, based on 16 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "The Big Leap's joyous celebration of life and love isn't remotely subtle, but with moves like this and charm to spare, why play coy?" On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".