The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) is a charming and supportive housewife and mother in 1958 New York City, until her aspiring comedian husband leaves her and she drunkenly grabs the mic only to find herself to be the true comic talent. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s script dances and floats with witty banter, Brosnahan proves herself every bit as charismatic and engaging as her character, and their talents come together most electrically in Midge’s marvelous monologues. But the world around them similarly delights, with a lush visual palette and superb supporting performances from Tony Shalhoub, Marin Hinkle, and Alex Borstein in particular, as Midge’s parents and manager, respectively. Beyond the play-within-the-play of Midge and kindred spirit Lenny Bruce running afoul of New York decency laws in their stand-up comedy acts is a much deeper commentary on the “place” of women in public spaces, Jewishness, familial relations, classed expectations, and the importance of not being “ripped right out of a catalogue” that is both impressively weighty and effortlessly light. The show also features a winning soundtrack that paces the action as deftly as Sherman-Palladino’s crisp dialogue. For bringing together the period drama and the feminist comedy and producing a magical mixture, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” wins a Peabody Award.