Acknowledging that it's better to show up late to a party, than never show up at all, we finally started Amazon's critical hit show "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel". (Another show that's going to bristle against my UK English spelling preferences). It is, as you might expect, "marvellous".
Miriam Maisel (Rachel Brosanhan) is a wife and mother in affluent New York in the late 1950's. She is supportive of her husband Joel's (Michael Zegan) dream, to become a stand-up comedian, despite his full-time job and lack of aptitude for it. When a slot goes badly, he packs a bag, tells her he's in love with his secretary and moves out of the family home. Drunk and miserable, Miriam ends up back at the comedy club and brings the house down with an improvised and honest routine. Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein) the club manager sees her true potential and tries to convince Miriam that she should be doing this professionally.
I really enjoyed this first season. Brosanhan is a compelling lead and I really liked the character of Miriam Maisel. Witty and charming, from the first episode she feels like a real person, privileged admittedly, but with personal flaws and who's trying to deal with a women's role in the 1950's (for example, she gets up before her husband and does her makeup, before getting back into bed to awake alongside him looking radiant). A different show might have abandoned the character of Joel after the pilot, but this doesn't, and we see the regret and disappointment pile up on him across the rest of the run. It's testament to the writing and to Zegan that despite his betrayal I never quite got to the point that I hated him. The wider family are all excellent, including both Miriam and Joel's parents, the fathers in which are the great Tony Shalhoub and Kevin Pollack. The second star role though is definately Alex Borstein's Susie Myerson, another wonderful smart and funny character, who plays off Brosanhan perfectly.
The show is funny, that's the key. Not just the standup, which generally is strong, but the interplay between the characters, which whilst definitely stylised is the real highlight. I really thought it was excellent and can't wait to crack on with season two.
Miriam Maisel (Rachel Brosanhan) is a wife and mother in affluent New York in the late 1950's. She is supportive of her husband Joel's (Michael Zegan) dream, to become a stand-up comedian, despite his full-time job and lack of aptitude for it. When a slot goes badly, he packs a bag, tells her he's in love with his secretary and moves out of the family home. Drunk and miserable, Miriam ends up back at the comedy club and brings the house down with an improvised and honest routine. Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein) the club manager sees her true potential and tries to convince Miriam that she should be doing this professionally.
I really enjoyed this first season. Brosanhan is a compelling lead and I really liked the character of Miriam Maisel. Witty and charming, from the first episode she feels like a real person, privileged admittedly, but with personal flaws and who's trying to deal with a women's role in the 1950's (for example, she gets up before her husband and does her makeup, before getting back into bed to awake alongside him looking radiant). A different show might have abandoned the character of Joel after the pilot, but this doesn't, and we see the regret and disappointment pile up on him across the rest of the run. It's testament to the writing and to Zegan that despite his betrayal I never quite got to the point that I hated him. The wider family are all excellent, including both Miriam and Joel's parents, the fathers in which are the great Tony Shalhoub and Kevin Pollack. The second star role though is definately Alex Borstein's Susie Myerson, another wonderful smart and funny character, who plays off Brosanhan perfectly.
The show is funny, that's the key. Not just the standup, which generally is strong, but the interplay between the characters, which whilst definitely stylised is the real highlight. I really thought it was excellent and can't wait to crack on with season two.