SIMPLY MARVELOUS
AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL BY MARA REINSTEIN
perfect musical needle-drops all transport viewers into late-1950s and early ’60s New York (plus Paris, the Catskills and Miami). And comedy icon Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) is crucial to Midge’s professional and personal growth. “In the 1950s,” Sherman-Palladino says, “comedy was just starting to change a little bit from ‘Take my wife ... please!’ to more political humor, more social humor, more talking about religion and men and women and their roles in the world. It’s an interesting time and place.” History on the screen has translated to history o ff it. In four seasons, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has amassed sixty-six Emmy nominations with twenty wins, including the award for Outstanding Comedy Series in its premiere year. “We always thought we were Game of Thrones without the dragons,” Palladino says. “We wanted to do a really high-quality piece of comedy because writers are often asked to just put two actors on the screen in a two-shot and have them say funny things. We felt that comedy on TV, especially a streaming network, could be like a Sopranos or a Breaking Bad . I’m proud that we proved that.” Now The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is ready to exit the stage. As the acclaimed comedy kicks o ff its fifth and final season (now streaming on Prime Video), here’s a wide-ranging retrospective tribute courtesy of the cast, behind-the-scenes talent and executive producers.
SO, A YOUNG NEW YORK CITY WIFE AND MOTHER DRUNKENLY STORMS INTO A CLUB IN 1958. Charged-up from the discovery of her husband’s a ff air, she takes the stage and delivers an impromptu stand-up comedy rant. It’s not perfect. But it’s hilarious. All right, fine: It’s marvelous. (Cue laughter!) That’s a key scene from the 2017 pilot episode of the dazzling Prime Video comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel . And when Miriam “Midge” Maisel — played with gusto by Rachel Brosnahan — grabs that mic at the Gaslight for the first time, she uno ffi cially finds her voice as a confident, independent woman. Created by Gilmore Girls auteur Amy Sherman- Palladino (who also wrote, directed and executive- produced with her husband, Daniel Palladino), the acclaimed and beloved series has proven to be a stellar showcase for breaking conventions. Not only does Midge find success in a man’s world, her manager, Susie Meyerson (Alex Borstein), leaves a menial Gaslight sta ff er job to guide her into the big time. Her parents, Abe and Rose Weissman (Tony Shaloub and Marin Hinkle), upend their well-to-do lifestyle. Even her suit-wearing ex, Joel Maisel (Michael Zegen), reinvents himself as a nightclub owner in Chinatown. Beyond the narrative, each episode unspools like a graceful period-era film in which no detail is overlooked. The tailored dresses, delicate accessories, rich interior design and furnishings, boxy cars, the song-and-dance numbers and pitch-
SEASON 5
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