by The Cowl Editor on September 27, 2018
Arts & Entertainment
by: Madeline Weaver-Nolting ’19 A&E Staff
Amazon Prime’s original series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel may have only had one season so far, but it is taking the world by storm. At the 2018 Emmy Awards, the show won more awards with a single season than any comedy has before with eight wins out of a total of 14 nominations.
In 1950s New York, Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) is a wife and mother who seemingly has her life figured out, but it takes a dramatic turn when her husband suddenly leaves her. The housewife now must find a passion of her own to follow.
She stumbles into standup comedy and is not only good, but hilarious. Midge must deal with pressures from her family, Jewish synagogue, and society; she has several run ins with the law for her “scandalous” comedy acts. Midge must become independent over night and finds new ways to make herself happy despite her world crumbling around her. The laugh-out-loud funny show will keep you guessing what kinds of adventures Midge is going to get into next.
The show is based on true stories of women trying to get their big break in comedy and the struggles that they faced in a male dominated industry. Vulture says, “Throughout season one, Mrs. Maisel weaves Midge’s origin story with scenarios and tropes from the era, borrowing from some of comedy’s real-life female trailblazers like [Phyllis] Diller and [Joan] Rivers, while mixing in details that might come years later (a topless comedy act), and others that happened to male comics (Lenny Bruce’s famous obscenity trial), resulting in an imaginative tableau of comedy history.”
At the Emmy’s, Brosnahan got her first win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Midge after a 2015 nomination for her role in House of Cards. She admitted that she did not prepare a speech, but she said, “One of the things I love the most about this show…[is] it’s about a woman who is finding her voice anew. It’s something that’s happening all over the country right now. One of the most important ways that we can find and use our voices is to vote. So if you haven’t already registered, do it on your cell phone right now. Vote, show up and bring a friend to the polls.”
The show’s creator and executive producer Amy Sherman-Palladino also won big with two awards for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series—the first woman ever to do so. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s second season will be released soon with confirmation of a third season due to these many early successes.