It has become so rare for me to do a film or TV review on my blog, since I started doing quick reviews on my Instagram page. However, once in a while, when I go through an entire series that isn’t brand new, I find more value in speaking about it at length. Today, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the Prime Video series called ‘The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel’. This period dramedy set in 1950s and 60s New York ran over five seasons from 2017-2023 and became the most successful series created by Prime Video so far.
The series had always been on my radar of things to watch because I love period dramas, but I somehow never got around to actually watching it. However, as I began to take on less work during my pregnancy and was looking for an easy-breezy, non-violent / non-depressing show to watch, I picked this one. And I’m very glad I did! So, here are my thoughts on ‘The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel’.
The Plot:
Miriam or Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) is a typical Jewish housewife in late 1950s New York. She looks amazing, has two perfect little children, and lives in a fancy apartment on the Upper West Side. Her perfect little world comes crumbling down on the Jewish day of Yom Kippur when her husband of four years, Joel Maisel (Michael Zegen), decides to leave her because he’s been having an affair with his secretary.
Grief-stricken and drunk out of her mind, she dons an overcoat atop her sexy negligee right after he breaks the news to her and makes her way to Greenwich village to a seedy bar called The Gaslight where her husband would sometimes attempt (but spectacularly fail at) stand-up comedy. Once there, she gets on stage, and lets her frustrations and fears rip out of her through hilarious observations and quips. Before long, she has the audience in splits, and the manager of The Gaslight, Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein), notices her raw talent for comedic timing.
The next morning, Susie pursues Midge and convinces her to try stand-up comedy professionally. And so begin the ups and downs of a woman in an excessively misogynistic world, attempting to become a comedienne of note. Through the five seasons, Miriam sees some success, a lot of struggle and tremendous personal growth, all of which fortunately culminates on a happy note.
The Characters:
The show revolves around Midge, whose quirky character is superbly written. She is confident, funny and very inspirational as she overcomes hurdle after hurdle in her personal and professional life, while always looking fabulous. Her two most intensive relationships throughout the show are with her ex-husband (both of whom continue to love each other and play pivotal roles in each other’s life, despite their divorce) and her manager Susie, who stays steadfastly by her side through many ups and downs.
Apart from this trio, Midge’s parents, Abe (Tony Shalhoub) and Rose Weissman (Marin Hinkle) and her ex in-laws Moishe (Kevin Pollak) and Shirley Maisel (Caroline Aaron) also play important roles. They share their Jewish culture and show the importance of parents and family to Jewish people (much like us Indians!). There is a maid called Zelda (Matilda Szydagis) who represents their changes in fortune through the show, and some interesting side characters like Midge’s best friend Imogene, her husband Archie and Joel’s short-lived Asian girlfriend Mei. Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby), based on a famous comedian of the same name, makes a number of appearances and plays an important role in Midge’s rise to fame.
Each of these characters witnesses personal growth inspired by Midge’s tenacity at following her own dreams. They all have excellent chemistry with each other and serve to push the narrative forward well.
Should You Watch It?
Now that I’ve given you ample background on the show, it’s time to share my thoughts on The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel. To put it quite simply, I absolutely loved it! Honestly, there’s no surprise here because it had all the elements that I look for in good entertainment. These include:
- A good storyline with many nuances
- Excellent characters that have phenomenal chemistry with each other
- A historical setting that is very vividly and accurately brought to life
- High production value from the sets to costumes to makeup and more
- The ability to introduce me to a culture or information that I didn’t know much about in a simple and engaging manner so that it stays with me. In this case, it was Jewish culture which I found surprisingly close to my own Punjabi / Indian culture!
- A good blend of humour, romance and drama in equal measure
- An important social message – which in this case was women empowerment
Fortunately, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel had all of this in spades. That doesn’t mean that everyone will love the show, because everyone has different choices and ideas of what they look for in TV shows / movies. However, the immense popularity of The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel has me believe that most people who have watched the show have indeed liked it.
When I was pregnant with my son in 2015, I had binge-watched another TV show set in 1950s and 60s New York called ‘Mad Men’. So, it was perhaps fitting that I chose the same era to binge on during my second pregnancy nine years later. However, apart from the setting and the women empowerment angle (which is much less pronounced in Mad Men) the two shows don’t have anything in common.
My husband and I watched The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel together and arrived at different conclusions. While I loved it, he simply liked it. While I thought it was superior to Mad Men, he thought vice versa. Maybe it’s a men / women thing?!
So, if you are interested in watching The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, having never seen it before, you can base your decision on what kind of shows you like. If you’re looking for a light, feel-good period drama, definitely give this a shot. I do feel that if you watch even just one season, you will not be disappointed.
Have you seen the show? What did you think of it? Do let me know in the comments below!
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