The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. 2017-2023

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. This is one of nuttiest series I have ever seen, its also one of the best. Its a vibrant take on a young woman played by Rachel Brosnahan who is recently divorced by her husband and on the make to make it as a stand up comedian in the 50's. She comes from a privileged upper Jewish middle class upper west side upbringing with intelligent but very eccentric parents played with delight by Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle. In fact every member of the cast is great and play their roles with glee and outrageousness like the frequent Over stuffed pastrami sandwiches that appear with regularity.

As I said the large cast also overflows with fast talking, hell very fast talking New York type characters many in show biz both high and low that push the boundaries of stereotypes into new levels of levels. Best among them is the great Alex Borstein short unorthodox butch foul mouth and pushy as the manager of a low down Village nightclub who becomes the manager and best friend of Mrs. Maisel and pushes her to levels of stardom but high and very low. Also wonderful is the great Caroline Aaron sweet, loud and clueless as her ex mother in law.

Other members of the great cast are Jane Lynch who makes appearances here and there as the pushy nasty and annoying stand up comedian who I couldn't place in real time. Was she based on Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller or some complete made up character. There is also a black singer who Mrs. Maisel opens up for in Las Vegas who is no doubt based on Johnny Mathais closet and all, and a real life Lenny Bruce fictionized and important to Mrs. Maisel's life and career.

There are late night talk hosts, riotous borsch belt comedians, (The eposides set in a 50's Catskill resort will have you rolling on the floor) gangsters, lots of loud family arguments one unbelievably on the Coney Island Wonder Wheel, and a strong taste of upper class Jewish family life in the 50's including several excursions into real synagogues on the high holy days, where outbreaks of hysteria break out. I could go on and on highlighting the many pleasures of this show including a jazz club run by her ex husband in Chinatown, the garment center factories, the early days of live t.v. And much more.

Also notable are the many sights and sounds of the real New York City that this wonderful series actually filmed on location and to my critical New York City eye were done with beautiful details and accuracy. They even got the film on the marquee of Radio City Music Hall correct. The other spectacular thing are the beautiful costume and clothes of the period that was a sight for these eyes. Brilliant, poignant and funny.