‘Mrs. Maisel’
The new Amazon hit show is coming to local screens next month
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the tale of a young Jewish housewife on the Upper West Side in the 1950s who becomes a stand-up comedian, will be coming to homes around the world next month. The first season of the show, from Amazon Prime Video, will premiere on November 29. The program, which stars Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards) in the title role, was part of Amazon’s pilot season back in March, and was the first to be picked up for production, and the first in Amazon’s history to be signed for two seasons. The show was created and produced by Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Daniel Palladino, who are best known for the smash hit Gilmore Girls.
The pilot, which garnered an average customer rating of 4.9, featured jokes about Yom Kippur, eating treyf, bribing people with brisket and even a crack about Buchenwald. When finally the family rabbi has agreed to return to the Maisel home after a certain incident, she jokes: “It only took four years of apologies and a dreidel signed by Sammy Davis Jr.”
The Maisels are far from observant, but their Jewish culture is evident in every scene, and it’s refreshing to see a show so unapologetic about it.
In the trailer for the upcoming season, released last week, Brosnahan and her supporting cast, including Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein and Michael Zegen, shine amid the snappy dialogue and fast pacing. The show flits effortlessly from jokes about rabbis to those about tickling testicles.
Mrs. Maisel and many more of Amazon Video’s new shows were supposed to be the focus of a showcase event in London this week for journalists from across Europe, including Israel. The event was called off less than a week in advance after the head of Amazon’s video department, Roy Price, was suspended indefinitely over accusations of sexual harassment. In addition to allegedly harassing a producer, Price reportedly dismissed a claim from actress Rose McGowan that US film producer Harvey Weinstein had raped her.
Price was supposed to appear at the London showcase slated for this week, along with more than 50 journalists, and stars of Amazon shows including Mrs. Maisel, Transparent, The Grand Tour, Fleabag and Jean-Claude Van Johnson. Brosnahan, Judith Light, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Jean-Claude Van Damme were all scheduled to attend.