Season 1 of this Amazon Original serieswas released on 11/28, and I inhaled it over the weekend. I LOVED it. I actually can’t think of anything about it that I didn’t like.
A high-level setup would be to say that in 1958, an Upper West Side housewife’s husband suddenly leaves her and their two young children, and she discovers that she has a talent for stand-up comedy.
I found it of course very funny – both overtly and subtly – but also touching at times. And none of the characters annoyed me, which is pretty rare (I *dislike *things about a couple of them, but that’s not the same as if they were flat-out annoying or poorly developed). I’m definitely hoping there will be a second season.
Anyone else watching/watched this?
(There can be open spoilers in this thread: as far as I’m concerned, once an entire season has aired it’s fair game.)
I have watched four episodes and love it. It’s got the fast-paced, witty dialog that one would expect from the creators of the Gilmore Girls, and a bunch of great characters. I will stick with it, trying not to binge.
I love this show. The cast is great but Alex Borstein really shines. She makes the show practically by herself.
Other notables: Tony Shaloub especially when playing against Kevin Pollack.
Rachel Brosnahan is great in the title role. Very funny.
I’m shocked by how many of the references and how much of the music I know. I was born in 1966 but I learned/gleaned a lot of this from my Dad especially and watching TCM I guess.
OMG, the music is amazing. I’m a jazz singer, so I’ve been totally digging the Great American Songbook soundtrack…but then they also throw in some “contemporary” music from time to time. I almost fell off my couch when I heard “The Gentleman Is A Dope” in an episode: I perform that song, and no one ever knows it!
Yes, we are four episodes in and enjoy it a lot. She is a bit too attractive to me - as a straight guy, I have no issue with this - but I am trying to think of her as Joan Rivers or Totie Fields or even Carol Burnett.
Think of her as Joan Rivers for performance but Elaine May for looks then. If you’re not sure who Elaine May is, please google Young Elaine May and then read up on her. She was part of the brilliant comedy team from that time period Nichols & May. Not sure if I can find any YouTube clips of their better work, but I’ll try. Here is a decent one. Nichols May 65 Funeral classic skit
I think her attractiveness is integral to both the character and the character’s comedy, so it didn’t bother me. I never found it distracting…though I’m a straight chick and even I had a few “yowsa” moments.
I may not be as strong in comedy as I am with music, but I know Elaine May, her importance to improv and her career as a director, including Ishtar, etc.
But theatrical improv craft is not what Mrs. Maisel is doing. She’s trying to share space with Lenny Bruce. It’s different
This is a minor nit - I see no need to die on this hill ;). I’m enjoying it. She’s just distractingly pretty and seems to charm her way through a few obstacles I think a Joan Rivers would’ve hunkered down and bulled through. The character fits wonderfully in an Amy S-P show, like Lauren Graham, so I really have no complaints.
Fair enough, when I saw the pilot last year I decided the character was 50% Joan, 20% Lenny and 30% Elaine May.
They have the wonderful Alex Borstein to bull her way through things. Who in this makes Joan look like a Miss America contestant. Actually, young Joan was pretty, not Hollywood pretty, but pretty.
ETA:** Netflix already approved season 2. **
I just started watching it and I agree with what they did. Netflix thought the show was so good that they approved a 2nd season even though it’s on Amazon.
I just finished the show (and as a bonus got a TV capable of doing HDR, so the colors really popped) and it was, in a word, marvelous! Gut bustingly hilarious and some fantastic acting work (Tony Shaloub was incredibly funny). Brosnahan is a revelation and I full expect her to get some award nomination love.
Shaloub is just stunningly subtle. As he comes in the door, yelling despite the note, correcting the housekeeper and then gently relents as he sees his beloved in crushing pain, I was floored. I had to go back the next day and re-watch it to see him acting. The movements of his face and shoulders are just barely there, yet they tell the whole story of annoyance, reluctance, love, empathy, and then finally the determination to do something about the situation.
