FEATURE:
Welcome to New York
Why There Is a Definite Need for Another Show Like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
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THERE is no denying….
IN THIS PHOTO: Rachel Brosnahan played the eponymous Mrs. Maisel in the Amazon series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which ran between 2017 and 2023/PHOTO CREDIT: We Are The Rhoads for Variety
the fact that, when it comes to the best T.V. comedies and the most stylish well-directed and ambitious, the U.S. leads the way. By miles! We in Britain can do some things well. Low-budget and interesting films now and then. Our theatre and music is incredible. However, when it comes to television, what we put out pales into insignificance compared to the best of the U.S. I find our comedies at best half-baked and average. No style or anything that approaches excellence. A few classics stick in the mind, though the modern crop is woefully overrated and inadequate. Far weaker than they should be. Nothing that stands in the mind or has any sort of sheen or visual appeal. Quite a few that are decidedly lo-fi and depressingly real (code: grubby or homemade). No air of fantasy or escape. The writing and performances inferior compared to that of our American cousins. The same with dramas too. Too many melodramatic series of formulaic ideas. Our very ‘best’ comedies of the past ten years are incredibly poor when it comes to what the U.S. has offered. If I had to compile a top ten of the best T.V. comedies of all time, it would have at least nine American shows in. One of the best and most well-produced and brilliantly-written and directed is The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Starting in the late-'50s and centring around Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel, the lead lives on New York’s Upper West Side and soon discovers a talent for comedy. The series follows her into the world of comedy and she navigates her life as a wife and mother and her growing ambitions. Starring Rachel Brosnahan and with a wonderful supporting cast, it began in 2017 and its fifth and final season was aired in 2023. It was a huge shame when the series ended! Ending during the pandemic, the show gave so many of us comfort and uplift at a horrible time. Running at fifty-three episodes, it ended at the right moment. Even though there were some criticisms around the fantastical elements of the show or the frenetic and fast pace of the show; its issues with whitewashing and portrayal of Jewish people. Some highlight the style and visual feast over a perceived lack of punch and substance. Some have asked about the authenticity of the series.
Its creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino (who also created Gilmore Girls), blends some incredible pop culture references and this amazing palette. Beautifully directed with some stunning one-shot takes, choreography and sumptuously beautiful and evocative nostalgia, the writing is sharp, witty, full of humour and real moments of emotional hit. The final episode of the third season, where Midge is on the runway and is denied access to board a plane to go on tour in Europe with Shy Baldwin is heartbreaking. The music throughout the series is wonderfully deployed and adds to the scenes. Rather than the music being background or wasted, it is beautifully selected and perfectly placed (my favourite music moment is this). Its makers, Amy and Daniel Sherman-Palladino, created an incredible series. Its final season was exquisite and, unlike so many popular series, ended wonderfully and did not disappoint. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel received huge critical acclaim. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2017 and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2018, with Sherman-Palladino receiving the awards for Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Writing at the latter ceremony. Rachel Brosnahan reflected on a perfect finale. It is such a shame that the series ended. There are some wonderful articles about the final season and what the show meant. Rachel Brosnahan has gone on to appear in some amazing films and shows, though her defining role might always be Mrs. Maisel. She made it her own!
Pairing with Alex Borstein (who played Susie Myerson, who runs the Gaslight Cafe and later becomes Midge's manager), there was this incredible chemistry and brilliance. The directing always wonderful and inventive. The 1950s and early-'60s aesthetic so vivid and sumptuous. The scripts packed with so many memorable moments. Though technically a comedy-drama, it is still sharper and funnier than almost anything that has followed it. A golden T.V. series that sort of signalled the end of something. I have not seen a series like it since. After watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, it made me aware of the wonder of Rachel Brosnahan. Someone who compelled me to write comedy and various projects. She runs Scrap Paper Pictures out of New York with Daniel Kahn. Fostering and developing ideas from female filmmakers from, as the name implies, scrap paper through to realisation, a huge dream is to write a comedy/comedy-drama where she is a part of it. One that is directed and maybe co-written by Amy Sherman-Palladino. That has a lot of the style and wonder of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel but set in a different time. Maybe the modern day or maybe the 1980s. Though set in New York. I have discussed and dissected an idea I have had that centres around Kate Bush’s The Ninth Wave. The second side of 1985’s Hounds of Love, it would be great to bring it to the small screen. Star Saoirse Ronan in a lead role and hear and see the songs from The Ninth Wave brought to life. Each given their own style and look. Greta Gerwig is someone else I would love to work with. I am inspired by incredible filmmakers like them. So blown away was I with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and how it still hits me when I rewatch it now, it has made me think about my own ideas. It also has left a gulf. There have been some amazing T.V. series made since 2023 – yes, most of them from the U.S.! -, but nothing has left an impression as big as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. This remarkable, dizzying and unique series earned…
ITS place in T.V. history.